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MISSISSIPPI SCENES; 

OR, SKETCHES OF 

SOUTHERN AND WESTERN LIFE 
AND ADVENTURE, 

HUMOEOUS, SATIRICAL, AND DESCRIPTIVE, 

INCLUDING THE 

LEGEiXJp OF BLACK CREEK. 



BY JOSEPH JB. COBB. 

AtJTHOB. OF " THE CREOLE" ETC, JTC. 

^■^ . \ 

" I was alw«ys foiifl^ visiting new scenes, and observing strange chai-^tcters 
and manners. Wy holitiaj- afternoons (even when a mere boy) were spent lu 
rambles about ffie surroun^ding country. I knew every spot where a murder 
had been committtd, or a^ost seen. This rambling propensity strengthened 
with my years." — Washixcson Irving. 

"My enthusiasm %tos always. chiefly awakened by the wonderful and the ter- 
rible—the conu non taste of chlldren, but in which I have remained a child ever 
"°'f thigjlapiJ^liAiJ 1 uajySlJjjiBWY OF Sir Walter Scott. 



X.IBKAK 

^- ^♦'^SM iNGTON^ $,fell\ D E^^ H I A : 

A. "HART, LATE\CA]fe & HAET. 
18\l. 







Entered according to the Act '''' 
in the Clerk's 0*^ 



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V" 



PHILADELPHIA 
T. K. AND P. G. COLLINS, PRINTERS. 



DEDICATION, 



HON. AUGUSTUS B. LONGSTREET, 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI. 

My dear Sir : — 

It is not unfrequently the case that sinister motives 
are attributed to authors who choose to inscribe their 
works to persons whose fame has passed the ordeal, and 
whose names are distingviished in the literary world. I 
may not escape a like suspicion in thus selecting your 
name (distinguished alike in the professional and reli- 
gious as well as the literary world) as the means of 
introducing the following sketches to the public, but I 
am very sure that such will not be entertained by those 
who know of the many ties of friendship which have 
induced me to make such selection. This friendship I 
have ever claimed as a portion of my inheritance, both 
in my own and in right of her who presides over my 
household. It is a claim which, having been handed 
from father and father-in-hiAV to son, will be recognized 
by all Georgians, and one which* the accomplished au- 



IV DEDICATION. 

thor of the "Georgia Scenes," will be, I sincerely trust, 
the last to repudiate. While, therefore, notwithstand- 
ing the very great disparity of age, many of the most 
pleasant and grateful scenes of my own life have been 
associated with your name, I have only to look back a 
few years into the past to found a title to your friend- 
ship which will absolve me of any sinister intention or 
design in this dedication. Wishing you, then, my dear 
judge, many happy New Years' return, and that a life 
which has been so eminently useful may yet be long 
preserved, I take the liberty of subscribing myself, 
what I have been from boyhood. 

Your sincere friend, 

THE AUTHOR. 
LoNGWOOD, Miss., 1850. 



INTRODUCTION. 



A VERY few words will suffice to preface the following 
sketches, which are mostly drawn from real scenes and 
characters, and may, therefore, be regarded by the 
reader as faithfully original. The models and incidents 
are alone borrowed and embellished. Hundreds now 
living will doubtless recognize and identify every cha- 
racter, and thousands are familiar with the scenery and 
many of the incidents. These facts serve to alleviate, 
partially, the distrust with which I offer them to the 
public ; though, if I shall have failed to paint suffici- 
ently life-like, my mortification will be, in consequence, 
much the more intense. 

The Mississippi reader, however, will look in vain for 
the originals of all the characters and scenes in oui* own 
State or midst ; and many friends in Georgia, where the 
author's early life and youth were passed, will, no doubt, 
be surprised to find much in the following pages which 
belongs more properly to pleasant reminiscences of the 
treasured past. Many busy actors are the cherished 
friends of early days (some now, alas ! asleep in the 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

cold and cheerless tomb), redrawn, and introduced on a 
different theatre, truly, but not altogether among unfa- 
miliar names. Nevertheless, it is here and round about 
that inquisitive or curious readers must look mainly for 
satisfaction. 

Some of these sketches were originally published in 
Mississippi papers, under the signature of a "R-ambler." 
The author has, therefore, been compelled to divide the 
volume into two parts, the original design having been 
departed from, and the second series being of a different 
character, entirely, from the first. The last sketch, 
also, cannot be called a "Mississippi Scene," and the 
author can only excuse its introduction on the ground 
of its being a family reminiscence of the Revolutionary 
era, and mainly true in fact. It was furnished, origi- 
nally, as a contribution, by the author, for the October 
number, 1848, of Peterson's National Magazine. 

The reader will find that I have indulged, truly, the 
^'■otium cum dignitate" in the composition of the fol- 
lowing sketches. The style is that of everyday thought. 
I have written more with a view to amuse and entertain 
than to engage or instruct. And if various authors are 
thought of and named as my model, let me say, once for 
all, that I have written with no design either at imita- 
tion or competition. Imitation, at the best, is hazard- 
ous; competition is out of the question when mentioned 
in connection with any whose writings I may have 
chosen for my model. Any rough sketcher may make 



INTRODUCTION. VU 

a tolerable copy. To conceive and carry out the origi- 
nal requires the hand, always, of a master in the art. 
Whilst, therefore, the method and arrangement of the 
following sketches may have been suggested by reading 
the works of abler writers, I can yet say, with truth, 
that there is a novelty about them which may, perhaps, 
compensate for the absence of greater beauties. 

Many of the scenes purporting to be laid in Missis- 
sippi will be found equally applicable elsewhere in the 
South — particularly those illustrative of negro character 
and incident. I have written, it will be seen, as a 
journalist or sketcher, not as an essayist or a politician. 
Abler pens than mine have long since fulfilled this last 
character. 

In conclusion, I can assure my readers that they may 
rely on the truth and accuracy of the descriptions found 
in the following pages ; and while, doubtless, much is 
embellished, there are many who will be able to pro- 
nounce most they meet with " o'er true." 

J. B. C. 

LoNGWOOD, Miss., 1850. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 



CHAPTER I. 

A SABBATH MORNING IN COLUMBUS. 

The distance which separates us, my dear S , will 

be sufficient apology for addressing you as the medium of 
communicating a few rambling and descriptive thoughts 
to the public, if indeed I were not justified already in 
the fact that I have been long honored with an intimate 
friendship to which few have aspired with as much sin- 
cerity, and fewer still with such pleasing and cordial 
evidences of success. And if this was destined to reach 
you first through a private letter, intended to circulate 
only amongst the cherished few who form the delightful 
circle into which you will soon be welcomed, it would 
then accord better with my feelings to remove the veil 
of disguise, and affix to the initial letter the balance 
which makes a name connected with every virtue, and 
which is associated with scenes of domestic beauty 
peculiarly grateful and pleasant. But that modesty of 
thought which operates to confine within select limits an 
intellectual taste, as worthy of admiration as of envy, 



14 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

and which might eminently elicit both if more publicly 
diffused, forbids me to hazard a liberty so questionable 
in its results to a friendship I would by no means rashly 
lose. In pursuing these sketches, therefore (designed 
merely for Jiome consumption), I shall leave the disguise 
in both instances to be penetrated by those whose interest 
in the scenes may lead them to the task, or who have 
been sufficiently acquainted in our social circle to ex- 
perience at once shrewd suspicions of our identity. I 
shall begin then with a home sketch ; nor do I know 
whether, in their future progress, these letters will ever 
be extended beyond the precincts or suburbs of the lovely 
and picturesque though comparatively unknown and cer- 
tainly unappreciated little city in which our acquaint- 
ance began. Such, though, may be the case. 

It was a lovely Sabbath morning in the spring of 184- 
that I found myself leisurely strolling along a secluded 
street of our little city, refreshing my eye with the sight 
of numerous beautiful flower-gardens, redolent with the 
earliest and sweetest visitants of the season, and indulg- 
ing that thoughtful solitude of mind so agreeable to all 
who reflect much, or who aim to divert the thoughts of 
others by communicating the fruits of that solitude and 
reflection. The morn w'as most unusually calm and 
quiet, and the little spring birds were warbling merrily 
their joyous notes of welcome, and the sun shone with 
that hazy and subdued lustre which we so often imagine 
in connection with the Sabbath. Presently the church 
bells were heard calling the little Sunday scholars to 
their weekly Bible tasks, and, involuntarily, my own 
fancy wandered back to childhood's years when the 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 16 

same sound called me to the same loved task. I could 
almost see the happy groups of bright and smiling faces 
as they assembled in the vestibule of the old vine-clad 
church, awaiting the arrival of the aged minister whose 
delight it was to instruct us. There was the rosy-cheek- 
ed little girl, clad in spotless white, with a nosegay of 
sweet flowers in one hand, whilst the other held her Bi- 
ble and catechism. By her side was the little brother, 
the pet of home, the darling of father and mother, whose 
years were yet too tender for other mental employment. 
There stood the damsel just opening into womanhood, 
and the youth pluming himself on the cut and appear- 
ance of his first surtout with its shining brass buttons. 
There in one corner was the mild-looking teacher, re- 
hearsing with his class the lesson soon to be recited in 
the minister's presence ; and there, too, in another corner, 
was seen a bevy of laughing faces, greeting each other 
with the fondness and simplicity belonging to childhood. 
Then the venerated minister enters — all are still, and 
answer reverently to his paternal welcome. The door 
is opened, the invocation pronounced, and I almost sur- 
prised myself listening to catch the soft music of the 
little choir as they joined voices in praising the God of 
Sabaoth. The picture was too vivid to be diverted from 
my mind's eye by the passing scenes and circumstances 
around. I was carried back to boyhood and to my early 
happy home — home as it was before death came and 
trials began. The tenants of the lonely and distant 
graves were before me as I had seen them in the morn- 
ing of life and in the opening of memory. I saw the 
mother who prayed over me, the father who petted me, 



16 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

the little brothers in whose gambols I participated in 
those sunny days when all was so bright. Even the old 
servants who watched us were present to my imagina- 
tion. I could see the companions who shared these 
guileless pleasures, and who then bid too fair for life to 
sink so soon into the grasp of death. All was as fresh 
before me as if there the scene had been enacting, and 
moments passed listlessly away, and the last vibrating 
echoes of the church-bells were dying away, when my 
fancy was forced again from those lovely and grateful 
contemplations. And now my thoughts too changed! 
Where, I asked myself, were those bright groups which 
used to assemble in that old church? Some, cut off in 
the bloom of life, reposed beneath the same shades ad- 
joining, where I had so often watched them mingling in 
childish sports. There, too, lay the little bright-eyed bro- 
ther, whom first of all the earth I had learned to love ; 
and there too was the marble monument which towered 
over the mortal remains of him who in life had petted us 
as the apples of his eye. Years arj^ years ago I had 
watched, with tearful eye, the green grass as it waved 
over the lonely grave of that fond mother who had bright- 
ened the home of childhood. All were now gone, and 
with the lapse of time other feelings had been engen- 
dered, other and equally cherished affections had taken 
the place of those that were fled. There is, however, 

my dear S , nothing which comes so welcome and 

grateful to the feelings as those dim remembrances of 
early days, which so harmonize our thoughts, and steal 
our imaginations insensibly away to scenes which were 
unalloyed with worldly anxieties, and mellowed by those 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 17 

softer primitive affections which have not known the 
blight of more advanced years. 

It was then under the influence of feelings like these that 
I wandered on into the more frequented portions of the 
city, with the intention of attending one of the services 
of the day. I determined to go where I should meet 
with the most numerous congregation, with a view of 
finding, if possible, whether many others might not be 
pervious to a like touch of feeling, and whether the cal- 
lousness of every-day life might not be, by some chance 
stroke, forcibly disarmed and diverted. 

I continued my walk, and came to the intersection of 
Church Street. Here I paused, for a moment, to survey 
the numerous throng of shining carriages and fretful 
horses before and around me. Flashy-looking negroes, 
in linen and broadcloth, their heads covered with glisten- 
ing hats and their hands smothered in kid gloves of every 
hue, mounted on their lofty boxes, seemed to be striving 
who should succeed in cutting the most capers at the 
risk of their own necks and their master's purses. On 
ray right, at the distance only of a few paces, I could 
see the Presbyterian church, surmounted with its glitter- 
ing dome, which seemed to shake on its slender and ra- 
ther elegant pillars beneath the vigorous efforts of some 
ardent bell-ringer who tolled the faithful to their worship. 

Immediately in my front towered the stately and ele- 
gant edifice dedicated to Baptist worship, and further on, 
within stone throw, was seen the neat but more moderate 
proportions of the Methodist church. These two, you 
must be aware, my lovely friend, are the grand rival 
sects of the city, as indeed they are of the United 

States, They are ever ready for the ring, and a regular 

9* 



18 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

theological prize fight (not in its vulgar sense) comes off 
now and then between them. What is strange, too, they 
rarely ever contend about the essential principles of reli- , 
gion, but are extremely concerned to know whether the 
ancient prisons were provided with tan-vats, and whether 
the early Christians used water in Homoeopathic or Allo- 
pathic quantities. What a pity that, in order to settle 
this first theological proposition, the Jews or Christian 
fathers have not been able to excavate some manuscript 
remnant of old Simon the tanner ! 

And so earnest are they on these important points 
that, like the Highland and Lowland Scotch, they never 
allude to the matters in dispute without an involuntary 
itching to "pitch into" each other, and take a regular 
Hyer and Sullivan turn. These rounds are some- 
times pursued to a most barbarous extent. They are 
renewed daily for weeks at a time, and Tartleton's quar- 
ters are the order of the day. The regular ministrations 
of the pulpit sink into oblivion under this more absorbing 
and essential business, and the benches of the arena 
groan beneath the weight of loafers and sinners, who 
convoke from much the same species of laudable curiosity 
that gathers the hordes to witness a match race betwixt 
Boston and Fashion. No sort of contest is so eagerly 
sought after or so dearly prized by this respectable class 
of community, and old racers, and veteran sportsmen 
who never see the inside of a church during the old- 
fashioned sort of service, feel indispensably bound in duty 
and conscience to attend on occasions of the kind under 
consideration. Lest, too, the cause of our holy religion 
should suffer from neglect to cultivate this taste in the 
transgressing community, these churches (and others, too, 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 19 

though they are more secondary) set apart select cham- 
pions trained and inured to the service of theological 
pugilism, and it has become now as much a science as 
boxing and cudgel-playing are amongst the English, 

And I very reverently question, my dear S , whether 

St. Paul attracted larger crowds when, " after the man- 
ner of men ^ he fought with beasts at Ephesus," than do 
these pulpit champions when, betwixt the hours of exhi- 
bition, they play the lio7i on the village streets or city 
promenades. All honor and praise, then, to these doc- 
trinal boxers, who distrust too much the results of Chris- 
tian harmony and amalgamation to allow this pious war- 
fare to become extinct ! It is woefully to be dreaded 
that such cessation of strife might produce a most lament- 
able state of torpidity, from which religion could never 
resuscitate. 

But it is high time I was going on with the legitimate 
thread of my sketch of a Sabbath morning's visit to the 
Church of the Methodists. I was soon brought to con- 
elude, on the morning in question, that it was among 
these worshipers I would find the largest congregation. 

I have often listened in company with you, my lovely 
friend, to the eloquent and able discourses of the minister 
then in charge of this church, and have often, too, wished 
you had been with me, when these observations were 

made. You, my dear S , belong to a different church, 

and I, as you well know, am no churchman at all, but 
we have both agreed that this gentleman was a learned 
and interesting expositor of the holy Gospel, and pecu- 
liarly happy in awakening some latent feeling, in the 
course of his sermon, which caused the hearts of his 
hearers to beat in unison with his own, and impressed 



20 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

the mind with a train of associations, springing from 
some tender and cherished fountain of memory, which 
often surprised the most wary into a gush of tears. And, 
indeed, whatever may be said about the desultory and 
discretionary polity of this class of Christ's followers — 
it must yet be fairly admitted that their services, when 
conducted by able preachers, are most delightful and 
interesting, because the best adapted to arouse the finer 
emotions of our nature, and call into vivid action deeper 
sentiments than those merely of awe and solemnity. 

The seats were nearly all taken when I entered, but I 
found a vacant one without much difficulty, and com- 
posed myself for the services, though scarcely recovered 
from the sensations by which, only a few hours before, I 
had been so completely overpowered. I marked the 
majority of persons present, and soon ascertained that I 
knew most of them. I was at once satisfied that this 
was eminently an opportunity to observe the power of 
eloquent appeal and happy allusion in forcing into one 
common channel of thought and sympathy these differ- 
ing materials and conflicting natures. Every variety of 
character, and temperament, and condition was around ; 
and I prepared myself to observe with wakeful eye the 
effect of the coming discourse, and to detect, if possible, 
that furtive link of sympathy which philosophy teaches 
us to believe exists between all rational beings, though 
a lifetime may pass without its development in natures 
which have been corroded by more powerful and less 
tender influences. My only fear was now that the 
preacher himself might fail to strike the happy mesmeric 
chord. 

The hymn was given out and sung with a zeal and 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 21 

good feeling which augured finely for a speedy diffusion 
of that mystic influence so essential to the successful 
accomplishment of my wishes. The feelings of the wor- 
shipers rose with the swell of vocal melody, in which all 
joined to waft their morning orisons to the throne of 
Grace. I was myself most sensibly affected by the sim- 
ple music. The air was as old as the hills, and carried 
my fancy many years back, when in happier days I 
had listened to the same familiar strains in the nursery, 
in the village church, or, perhaps, at some rustic camp- 
meeting. A thousand fond and long-forgotten associa- 
tions were crowded instantly on my mind, and I surren- 
dered unconsciously to a delightful revery. And, indeed, 

my dear S , I have often wondered of late years that 

this class of Christians should endeavor to introduce choirs 
and new-fangled music in their churches ! They destroy, 
by this means, one of the principal charms of their wor- 
ship. The moment that native melody is restrained, 
and the untaught peasant- debarred from mingling his 
voice in unison with those around him, genuine Method- 
ism will begin to retrograde. 

The prayer followed — chaste, unostentatious, uttered 
with becoming decorum and mildness, though fervent 
and inspiring ; but, if the responses had not been so 
general, I should have pronounced it somewhat too pro- 
tracted. All was now attention for the exordium of the 
sermon, and the text was most aptly selected. It was 
the beautiful and touching parable of the rich man and 
Lazarus. The first half hour of the discourse was con- 
sumed in a learned and ingenious exposition of the doc- 
trinal points involved, which, though intensely interesting 
and instructive, failed utterly to produce that effect for 



22 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

which I had been prepared from the annunciation of the 
subject, and which was indispensable to the accomplish- 
ment of my wishes. But the peroration exceeded my ex- 
pectation, and, despite every effort to the contrary, my 
own philosophy of mind was disarmed, and I was borne 
forcibly along in the current of feeling which was fast 
overwhelming the audience. The splendid fortune and 
sumptuous living of the nabob were most touchingly con- 
trasted with the privations and sorrows of the suffering 
beggar who lay at his gate. You could almost see the 
sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks of the one as he re- 
veled gayly with friends over his wines and viands ; 
and then your ears were seemingly appalled by the 
groans of the other as the pitying dogs licked his sores. 
There, before you, were the sunken eyes, and wan coun- 
tenance, and sickly smile, as he welcomed the friendly 
animals ; and a happy illustration presented vividly to 
mind his choking thoughts, which found no utterance, as 
his fancy wandered to the distant home he was never 
again to behold, with its happy faces, and cheerful com- 
forts, and simple abundance. Scarcely a dry eye was 
to be seen ; and when, at the closing scene of life, the 
celestial messengers were pictured descending to bear to 
Abraham's bosom the despised and neglected sufferer, 
the passage of the breeze, or the rustling of a silk 
dress as some weeping female changed her position, 
might have been insensibly mistaken for the flutter of 
angel wings, wafting the loathed burden to a happy 
home in heaven. Sobs and groans became universal, 
and the calmness of the preacher himself gave way be- 
fore the vivid imagery of his own active powers. Such 
is the force of true pulpit eloquence when intended 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES, 23 

to reach the heart through the medium of the sympathies. 
There sat those whose bread of life was drawn from the 
distresses and misfortunes of friends and neighbors, 
weeping as if their hearts would burst. There sat the 
grasping and avaricious absorbed in grief; and the am- 
bitious, and the proud, and the revengeful, all alike car- 
ried away by a gush of tender emotions. There were 
the prodigal, and the indifferent, and the unbelieving, 
surprised into a state of overpowering sensibility. There 
were the truly pious, the amiable, and the beautiful, all 
bathed in tears ! Great God ! what a mysterious organ 
is this human heart ! The seat alike of all that is vicious 
and all that is good, philosophy has been unable to bare 
its recesses or explain its contradictions ; religion itself 
has failed w^holly to subdue its impulses. 

I have ever, my dear S , since that Sabbath morn- 
ing, loved to attend Methodist worship ; and though sel- 
dom in the habit of such visits, the associations pro- 
duced by the one in question have ever dwelt green in 
my memory. 



24 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE DUN GENTLEMEN OF TOWN. 

Memory, or association, my dear S , is the true 

source of pure intellectual pleasure, and the gift of this 
faculty is strong proof of the celestial nature of man. 
Few hours of our life are filled up with objects adequate 
to the mind. We are so often in want of present plea- 
sure or enjoyment that we are forced to have recourse 
every moment to the past or the future, and thus, as 
Johnson so aptly says, seek to relieve the vacuities of 
our being. The satisfactions arising from memory are 
the only joys, indeed, which we can call our own. The 
present, as the same writer tells us, is in perpetual mo- 
tion, leaves us as soon as it arrives, ceases to be present 
before its presence is well perceived, and is only known 
to have existed by the effects which it leaves behind, or 
the hopes which it excites for the future. But whatever 
of solace or of pleasure we find in the sacred treasures of 
the jyast, is out of reach of violence, or accident, nor are 
to be lost either by our own weakness or another's 
malice. 

Be fair or foul, or rain or shine, 

The joys I have possessed in spite of fate are mine ; 

Not heaven itself upon the j;as< has power, 

But what has been has been, and I have had my hour. 

Dryden. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 25 

The preceding number was partly intended, my dear 

S , to illustrate what has here been said, inasmuch 

as it exampled the power and pleasure of association sug- 
gested by passing scenes, clothing the present with an 
ephemeral fascination, drawn, by association, from the 
pure fountain of departed joys. Others, however, less 
charitable than yourself, and more inclined to fastidious 
criticism, may choose to attribute very different inten- 
tions as the groundwork of the former number, and seek 
to connect with untasteful satire what was designed 
merely as mirthful, harmless sketches. Well, be it so. 
If we make the praise or blame of others the sole rule of 
our conduct, we shall soon be distracted by a boundless 
variety of irreconcilable judgments, and held in per- 
petual suspense between contrary impulses. Being first 
satisfied that he has not deviated from the established 
rules of composition, every writer, if not every man, 
should regulate his actions by his own conscience, and 
shun the error of attempting to secure popularity by a 
solicitous conformity to prevailing prejudices, and an 
undue submission to advice and criticism. It is easy to 
foretell the fate of productions squared and fashioned by 
this Procrustean pattern. They soon sink into unpalata- 
ble commonplaces, and oftentimes inspire a merited dis- 
gust. — It is conceded on all sides that society, in its 
different features and divisions, is a legitimate subject 
for the exercise of pen, ink, and paper; and, proceeding 
on this admission, writers should resolutely adopt the 
Crocket motto, taking care to observe jealously all the 
decent and becoming proprieties which regulate social 
intercourse. I have as little respect as any one, dear 

S , for that class of mortals who aim to criticise with- 

3 



26 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

out first learning to indite, and who seek to gain by a 
system of depreciation that notoriety which true ambition 
contemns. Let us, then, without assuming to rebuke 
errors at which all connive, or to reform customs in which 
society habitually indulges, not so much to its detriment 
as to its confusion, endeavor in pursuing the leisure 
sketches to proceed a la mode — and that, too, in its 
common, not in the literal or vernacular sense. 

I have often heard you lament, my dear S , that 

Columbus was so barren of legendary or romantic asso- 
ciation. Indeed, as to this, one only spot of all its various, 
imposing and tasteful local beauties is connected with 
superstitious incident — and that has yet failed to elicit 
attention from the pen of a tourist or tale-teller. It may 
do so in the course of the present year; and, as I shall 
doubtless have some acquaintance with the author, you, 
my fair friend, may be assured that a copy shall reach 
yoa, even in the distant and lovely retreat which you 
have chosen. But there is much to admire in the bold- 
ness and novelty of much of its scenery. There is the 
tall and abrupt bluff which overlooks the blue stream of 
the Bigbee, lined with green shrubs, and fragrant wild 
flowers, and blooming vines, and towering trees all beau- 
tifully reflected on the crystal bosom of the river beneath, 
and luxuriating in the grandeur of primitive and undis- 
turbed regularity ! On its summits you may see the 
smoke curling gracefully up from many a cottage chim- 
ney ; and beyond, the eye is greeted with a beautiful 
plain widening gradually out, and covered with hand- 
some residences, which wealth and taste have united to 
adorn, smiling in all the cherished luxury of domestic com- 
fort and happiness. From yonder eminence on the Tusca- 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 27 

loosa road, the traveler beholds with delight, not unmixed 
with some wonder, the miniature panorama of a Ma- 
hometan city, rising suddenly to the vision in the interior 
of a country not famed for its improvements, with domes, 
and spires, and cupolas, looming in the distance, to 
gigantic proportions, and dazzling the eye with their 
glittering summits ! No town of its size in the Union 
can boast of a like imposing and showy array in this 
respect ; and if we are driven to admit that taste is not so 
generally diffused as some might desire, we may at least 
challenge emulation in the way of architectural improve- 
ment. Passing the main thoroughfares of the little city, 
we find the plain on which it is situated broken suddenly 
into formidable ravines, and wild dells, and gentle undu- 
lating hills which are occasionally crowned with lovely 
rural retreats, where the comforts of the country and the 
conveniences of town may be alike enjoyed. Surely, 

then, my dear S , our dull, dry, stale Columbus (as 

it is often called) is not wholly without its claims to 
interest ; and if we will only bring the imagination from 
its wandering flights to our own homely firesides, we shall 
discover that scenes with which we are, perhaps, dis- 
agreeably familiar, may borrow at least a passing efful- 
gence. 

From the number of church edifices which are inter- 
spersed through the city, one might be led unwarily to 

the conclusion, my dear S , that little else was 

thought of besides prayers and preaching. This, how- 
ever, would be a rash and unjust conclusion, involving 
a charge of indifference to the " creature comforts" of 
this life highly injurious to the active character of its 
good citizens. Alas! the world, with its carnal weak- 



28 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

nesses and covetous desires, still manages in the midst 
of all these magnificent offerings to religion to hold its 
own most wondrously well ; and trade is pushed, and 
pelf puffed, and wealth worried after, and dollars are 
doubled just the same as elsewhere. 

We must beg our kind readers, dear S , to indulge 

us with one number, whilst we take them through the 
Cerean mysteries necessary to elucidate the grounds 
taken above. And they must be informed, imprimis, 
that the world is so far nip and tuck in the race with the 
doctrine of self-denial that our town, as well as others, 
hath actually and verily sprouted from its abundance of 
worldly proclivities a homilitical species, or novel pro- 
fession, which has totally demolished lawyers and con- 
stabulary agents. This demolition is so far perfected that 
the last are here exposed as much as any other class of citi- 
zens to the raking fire of these paper-tongued neophytes, 
whose respectability (though surely unquestionable) is 
only to be equaled by their admirable assiduity. To 
define more clearly, I must declare them to be a collateral 
estate or invention wisely thrust in between the rights of 
creditors and the tardy remedies of law, to aid the fiscal 
pugnacity of the first, and to particularize the lamenta- 
ble universality of the last. 

I wish it distinctly remembered that the 7icophyfes 
deal exclusively in small matters ; as for those of larger 
dimensions, the superabundance of our town hath care- 
fully and ingeniously provided a higher order of remedy. 
These neophytes are a distinct and peculiar genus. Like 
the lilies of the field, "they toil not, neither do they 
spin," having imbibed the very singular idea that others 
should "toil and spin" for them. Yet they are by no 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 29 

means loafers; as, although claiming an equal right 
with this harmless and respectable gentry in the amuse- 
ment of hox-grinding, they yet go further, and assert 
what loafers would scorn to own, that grinding mankind 
is a far more profitable operation than grinding boxes, 
and that the last is only allowable on the ground of aiding 
to perform the first more successfully. They are besides 
remarkable for greatly mistrusting human memory, and 
are absolutely desperate for fear of being forgotten be- 
tween the lapse of one day and another. This will ac- 
count for their commendable anxiety to aid the first by 
continuous and friendly remembrances, and must excuse 
the means they select to guard against the latter catas- 
trophe. They certainly are the most high-headed and 
independent class in town, and, if the Mayor and Select- 
men only knew it, might be made the most eflficient 
policemen. Bow-Street runners in London, with all the 
terrible associations which cling around that awful name, 
were never so dreaded as are those neophytes of Main and 
Market. They take the street with an air of consequence 
and confidence most admirable to observe, and guard the 
corners with an alacrity and vigilance which would have 
caused Cerberus to drop his tail in his very best days. 
Such is the wholesome influences inspired by their pre- 
sence that few like to take the risk of a personal encounter, 
and none are rash enough to accost them without being 
first saluted. It is doubtful whether a mariner uses half 
the finesse and tacking to get around Cape Horn that 
an ordinary man employs to steer clear of a Columbus 
shark. (There are a genus of ea:^raordinary men, who 
always go around them with smooth sailing. JVoux 
verrons.) To exemplify the amount of independence and 



30 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

importance which attach to these neophytes, they may, 
at any time, parade the street from the Court-house to 
the Eagle Hotel, whilst before their august strides law- 
yers, and magistrates, and sheriffs, and constables will be 
seen to fly_ alike in dismay, and seek the darkness of a 
convenient alley as the best of earthly friends. No 
sooner is one descried than the cry of sauve qui pent is 
more hurriedly ejaculated in a crowd of lagging debtors 
than it was amongst the terrified masses of Napoleon on 
the fatal of day Waterloo. 

Now, let it not be thought that because these gentle- 
men are high-headed they are at all swelled headed. So 
far from this being the case, they consider none so hum- 
ble as to be beneath their notice — in proof of which 
honorable fact let it be here recorded that those whom 
others will not hunt up or notice are sure to be ferreted 
out and particularly attended to by these useful members 
of society. But if they cannot be called swelled heads, 
they can lay fair claim to the more euphonious and less 
offensive title of swelled pockets. These last are an in- 
dispensable appendage to their wardrobe, and are a never- 
failing index to the character and profession of their 
owner. It is generally said, too, that they prefer to wear 
coats of a dun color, as being more directly indicative of 
their calling, just as a class of politicians in France are 
distinguished by the title of sans cullotte. These pockets 
being filled, not with gold and silver, but with the sym- 
bols of their authority and office, never fail to command 
the most solemn and profound respect. This may, there- 
fore, be literally termed honoring the cloth of gentlemen 
— a provincialism I have never before been quite able to 
interpret. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 31 

Who can then say, my dear S , that our people 

are so led away by superstitious reverence, as might be 
argued from the disproportionate number of churches, 
that they are all unmindful of the bargain and barter, 
and gains and savings of ordinary rational life ? No, we 
can boast as moral and refined society as any other city; 
but our people know full well the uses of every-day life, 
and the churches are set apart, as they should be, for 
Sunday purposes. And, truly, they render the day so 
graven on one's mind in the days of youth as the day of 
the Most High, delightful and agreeable even to those 
who are not accepted worshippers. And I may justly 

add, dear S , that few cities are able to emulate 

Columbus as respects the general attendance of churches, 
or the sacred observances of the day. 

I shall give you my experience, in some future num- 
ber, of a Sabbath afternoon and evening, in continua- 
tion of the opening sketch of a Sabbath morning. 



32 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 



CHAPTER III. 

ON HUMBUGS. THE ALLEGORY OF THE SHOEBLACKS. 

I HAD paused listlessly, one summer morning, at the 
corner of Main and Market, opposite the drug establish- 
ment of A. N. Jones & Co., and was admiring the peculiar 
beauties of Columbus at such a moment when, in the ab- 
sence of all active trade, nothing is to be seen on the 
streets but a dashing equipage containing some lovely 
votary of fashion engaged in her diurnal round of shop- 
ping, or the contented countenance of a nonchalant loafer 
as he perambulates from one corner to the other in that 
delectable occupation oi killing time. It is only at such 
season, my fair friend, that we are enabled to appreciate 
les modes (in every sense of the term) of this little interior 
city. But, small as Columbus is, we have yet here a 
sufficiency of all necessary materials to paint a miniature 
of the world. The residence of only a twelvemonth will 
serve to convince the veriest skeptic who presumes to 
doubt the fact. 

I shall here (and, maybe, hereafter) adduce evidences 
to sustain what I have asserted ; and, by way of beginning, 
let me say that, on the morning in question, I was amused 
with a very striking and forcible illustration. On every 
side, and for some distance up and down this main 
thoroughfare of the city, my eye caught sight of blazing 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 33 

and gorgeous advertisements, some in large gilt or wooden 
frames, others simply nailed to doors and facings — all, 
however, garnished with varied colors, and setting forth 
the unheard-of and never-to-be-equaled qualities of some 
newly-discovered or long-established medical preparation, 
with a farewell hint about what places and what persons 
have been fixed upon as agencies through which to help 
mankind to their healthful benefits. Upon entering one 
or two shops on Main Street, I found, besides the usual 
display of a fancy establishment, that a great part of the 
room was decorated with ornaments of this description. 
There were elixirs, and tinctures, and crack plasters, and 
sanative salves, and pills, and electuaries, and, in short, 
more special curatives than I believe there are diseases. 
You might naturally have supposed that Death, on behold- 
ing such a fearful preparation of armor to ward off his 
attacks, would have quit his business in utter despair, 
and presented the counterpart of "Patience on a monu- 
ment smiling at Grief." I began to congratulate the 
present age on the happy prospect of lengthening life and 
conquering disease ; and pain, I thought, would be of such 
short duration that a few cramps and spasms now and 
then would be only an agreeable variety, and just serve 
to enhance the value of pleasure. But unfortunately for 
the spread of science, these discovererskeptthe ingredients 
of their medicines scrupulously secret. No professional 
acumen or chemical research could possibly fathom or ex- 
pose them. Not satisfied with an exclusive patent right, they 
yet prefer to keep the secret, as in this secrecy dwells 
much the greater magic. What a comment on human 
nature! The art of managing mankind consists, 
then, only in making them stare a little, in keeping up 



34 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

their astonishment, in letting nothing become familiar 
to them, but ever having something in the sleeve in which 
they must think you are deeper than they are. Our 
accomplished and esteemed friend Shocco (and it gives me 

true pleasure, dear S , to rank him as a friend) 

can doubtless testify, from all accounts, that our own good 
community is not altogether free from this infirmity; and 
others there are who insist that we are even blessed with 
a more than ordinary share of the amiable quality known 
as credulity. I will not endorse this, but I may venture 
to tell you what I have seen. 

Leaving the shops, I continued my walk leisurely up 
the street, and whilst still meditating on the medicinal 
wonders I had just seen, I was attracted by several 
notices, full pompous notes of exclamation which loomed 
forth from the trees and posts along the edge of the pave- 
ment. I had the curiosity to stop and read one of these, 
when the following annunciation met my eye, strangely 
illustrating more potently the thoughts which had occurred 
to me when looking over the all-healing nostrums and 
invaluable medical discoveries. 

Si$p STOP AND READ ! ! ! ! =^ 
J, H. B. Bigbug, Shoeblack, having determined to settle 
in Columbus, respectfully offers his professional services 
to all such as will favor him with their patronage. He 
belongs to the new school of shoeblacks, having taken 
his degrees at Goodenbrush College, Ireland, and hopes, 
should occasion offer, to prove that those who style them- 
selves the regulars are the true quacks. The citizens of 
Columbus may not be aware that new and important 
discoveries have been made recently in the science of 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 35 

shoeblacking. Under the benign influence of these valu- 
able discoveries, many boots and shoes which are now 
fast wearing out and dropping to untimely decay under 
the pernicious system used at present to keep them bright, 
will be beautifully restored. The whole substance and 
constitution of the leather will be resuscitated miraculously 
quick, without leaving any injurious poisons to undermine 
and weaken the strength. This maybe done, too, at one 
quarter of the usual expense, and by the use of one 
hundredth less of blacking than is employed under the 
old system. His materials being prepared either by him- 
self or experienced agents at the north, he will avouch 
their being genuine and efficacious. He may always 
be found (when not professionally engaged) at No, 23 
Market St. 

You can well imagine, my dear S , that surprise 

was my first emotion on reading this unique card, and I 
found myself involuntarily laughing at the singular as- 
surance, as I then thought it to be, which characterized 
its author. But, on mixing in with some few friends and 
acquaintances, I soon found that I must use some caution 
in speaking out my impressions, and that this Mr. Bigbug 
was already beginning to take the town by storm. Most 
every person was his advocate, and many ardently testi- 
fied to his superior and unheard-of dexterity. I saw that 
imagination had taken wing, and the numerous instances 
of his skill which were momentarily recited in my pre- 
sence almost convinced me that Mr. Bigbug was going 
to prove the eighth and greatest wonder of the world. One 
or two of the old shoeblacks, who accidentally passed up 
the street, and whose faces had been familiar to me for 
years, looked as blue as indigo, whilst a sardonic sneer 



36 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

curled their lips. I saw that if, like Caesar, they were 
doomed to fall, they had made up their minds to fall 
with dignity at the base of Pompey's statue. 

Weeks and months succeeded and rolled away, and 
still the wondrous achievements of Mr. Bigbug were the 
theme of everybody's conversation. Shoes which had 
lain moldering for years in the garret, and which defied 
all the efforts of the old shoeblack, were made to shine 
under his magic touch more brightly than a barber's 
basin. Boots which had been dismissed from service 
time out of mind, and thought utterly impervious to all 
recuperative efforts, borrowed suddenly all their ancient 
polish, and emitted such a luminous effulgence that a 
dandy might use them to see how to curl his whiskers; 
How soft the soles had become! how pliant the tops 
were ! how springy the heels felt! You would have sup- 
posed that Mr. Bigbug's touch had done the work of a 
six month's soaking, and that the wearer was sufficiently 
inspired to leap a ten-rail fence with stakes and riders. 
And all this too was done by Mr. Bigbug alone — and 
no one else knew or could know how it was done with- 
out a regular course of apprenticeship under Mr. Bigbug. 
Some actually averred that he was more than mortal, 
and that he knew too much for any good. His habits 
were not like those of other shoeblacks. He did not 
load himself with brushes had boxes ; he had only to dis- 
till from a jaybird's quill the least part of a strange-look- 
ing fluid, and then touch the shoe once or twice slightly 
with a feather from the wing of a whip-poor-will, and 
the work was done, and all over. No noise of rubbing 
and scrubbing accompanied his efforts; no smell of lamp- 
black and turpentine could offend the nostrils after he 



MlSSISSIPn SCENES. 37 

was done with boots. He had also been heard to con- 
found the wisest of his profession, and to declare that 
he depended not alone on the natural properties of his 
blacking. All these things were closely and reverently 
treasured, and the old housewives and octogenary men, 
who had been raised up under the regular dynasty of 
shoeblacks, piously declared that they feared to touch 
any boot or shoe which had been cleaned with his black- 
ing and feather. His name and fame were soon spread 
abroad, and Mr. Bigbug was often sent for from distant 
places to carry the benefits of his novel art of blacking 
boots and shoes. He would return from such visits in 
any kind of weather, caring neitherfor rain, nor lightning, 
nor thunder, and wasfrequently heard galloping furiously 
along the road at midnight, striking fire at every step 
of his horse, like any romping, devil-may-care goblin. 
How could all this result otherwise than in building up 
for Mr. Bigbug a prodigious popularity, overshadowing 
the pretensions of all other shoeblacks? 

But his admirers did not suffer his claims to pre- 
eminence to rest even here. Many asserted that his 
blacking seemed to impart an elasticity and vigor to the 
fibres and sinews of the foot which aided the operation 
of walking no little, and that water could not so much 
as light on a boot or shoe he had once touched, let alone 
penetrating the leather. Others again declared that they 
had, under his direction, used his preparation with the 
greatest amount of profit on their plantations, and that 
brogans which had been lime-eaten by the prairie mud 
and laid aside for a year as past use, were suddenly 
restored to all their ancient toughness, and made to answer 
the purpose of a new purchase. In fact, marvels mul- 
4 



38 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

tiplied and wonders increased to such an extent that 
the appearance of Mr. Bigbiig on the streets was sure 
to produce universal gaping and staring, and even the 
old shoeblacks would look at him as a sort of natural 
curiosity. Cabals and consultations were several times 
put in requisition with a view to his dethronement, but 
all failed signally. Mr. Bigbug w^as, beyond all com- 
parison or competition, the bigbug of Columbus. 

Now, my dear S , without at all intending to dis- 
parage Mr. Bigbug (who, by the by, was really an accom- 
plished and deserving shoeblack), let us endeavor to 
analyze this furor of our people for novelty. Does it 
proceed from conviction or faith? I confess that I think, 
in this connection, of Ovid's opening line to the Meta- 
morphosis — " In nova fert animus." Novelty is, it seems, 
the emblem of mankind, the Circe of the world. Few 
are touched with the sublime spectacle of the sun rising, 
as Virgil says, from its coral bed to light up the world ; 
but everybody runs if a little sparkling meteor happens 
to dash athwart that blue mass of vapors which we call 
the heavens. Unfortunately, we soon learn to despise 
what is common or familiar : — 

" Vilia sunt nobis quaecumque prioribus annis 
Vidimus, et sordet quidquid spectavimus olim." 

Indeed, my fair friend. Charlatanism, if not the twin 
sister, seems ever to have been the handmaiden of 
science. The votaries of science have never been able 
to dispense with or get rid of it. Every one erects his 
own systems, or tangents of a system, of physics, meta- 
physics, and theology, and all will find disciples in this 
wonder-loving, novelty-courting world. True science in 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 39 

any of its numerous branches must be too patiently pur- 
sued ; its propositions are too profound ever to acquire 
extended influence or rabid popularity for its professors. 
To do this, the fancy must be put to work, the imagina- 
tion kindled, the judgment seduced by some captivating 
and ephemeral ruse,the reason surprised and diverted, and 
all the superstition with which our natures are charged 
actively and skilfully aroused. Mystery is a most power- 
ful enchantress, and although science is now simplified 
and directed to the reason and common sense of men, it 
has not outlived its connection, in former ages, with occult 
and supernatural agencies. If you cure a patient with 
a cobweb pill drawn from the walls of his own room, 
and afterwards tell him of your practice, it is ten chances 
to one he ever gets well again under the same treatment. 
A celebrated and successful French physician said, when 
dying, that he left two old and great physicians behind 
him — viz., simple diet and pure water — and yet how 
many have ever acted or would consent to act on such 
advice when plausible but disguised treatment was held 
out as a bait. The most important matters, when they 
have become familiar, are no longer considered with 
wonder or solicitude, and that only strikes and aflfects 
us which is rare and mysterious. Faith, at last, is the 
touchstone of the human mind, and faith is often at war 
with common sense, and to a great extent annihilates 
reason. The Arab, who besides being a good calculator 
is a learned chemist and fine astronomer, nevertheless 
takes by faith the story, related in the Koran, that Ma- 
homet cleft the moon in twain and put one-half in 
his sleeve. He is above common sense in the three 
sciences alluded to, and beneath it in the matters of his 



40 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

faith about the moon. His reason acts in the first and 
his judgment leads him to conviction; in the last, both 
reason and judgment are annihilated. He has seen one 
with his own eyes, and perfected his own intelligence ; 
in the second, he has used the eyes of another. And 
yet, which is the most palatable, and which could he be 
induced to surrender first? The occult, the mysterious, 
the incomprehensible, always inspire a species of adoration 
— sometimes even from the most intelligent. But it is 
the silent homage of blind faith, not the lucid convictions 
of reason and judgment. — Charlatans of every profession, 
ever shrewd and sagacious, dextrously avail themselves 
of this amiable infirmity of our natures, and we are 
oftentimes surprised into a pertinacious belief before the 
first proposition is settled and impulse determines what 
reason alone should consider. 

Promising, dear S , to let your hear from me again 

shortly, I am for the present, and until then only, 

A RAMBLER. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 41 



CHAPTER IV. 

Mr. Pynsent Plaiiilove, in a letter to the Rambler, describes the odds and 
ends of his first and only visit to Columbus on a shopping expedition 
with his family. 

The following letter, my dear S , is only the begin- 
ning of a series now in my desk. Indeed, I fear that my 
kind and worthy correspondents will multiply quite too 
rapidly for my purposes, as I am by no means willing to 
play the part of conductor to all their discontents and 
mishaps. I have now by my side a letter from Mrs. 
Winny Wiggins, complaining dolorously of a benevolent 
mania which she declares to have seized her husband, 
and maintaining that he never discovered any symptoms 
of such a malady until he came to Columbus. Then 
there is a communication from a learned Quaker friend, 
and an astute Mormon catechumen, both called forth 
from some remarks in my two first numbers. Also an 
epistle from a Mr. Mansfield Coke, formerly a law student 
in Columbus, giving an account of his first appearance 
among our elite. But to begin : — 

Frogmarsii, April 24th, 1849. 

To THE Author of the Rambler : — 

Finding, sir, in the columns of my last "Democrat," 

one of a series of interesting domestic sketches, which I 

observe you are furnishing to the reading public, I have 

4* 



42 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

concluded that a letter from me descriptive of a visit I 
made with my wife and daughters to Columbus some time 
ago, might prove very acceptable. The tone and man- 
ner of your sketch concerning my old acquaintance Big- 
bug amused me mightily, and for that reason I send you 
this. You must know, sir, that I am a plain, unpretending, 
homespun sort of a man, about fifty years of age, with a 
wife, two grown-up daughters, and a smart-sized stump 
of a boy for my white family. I moved from Tennessee 
some three years ago, and liking the Buttahatchie country 
better than the prairie lands, I bought my present estate 
of Frograarsh, situated some twenty miles from Columbus, 
and on which I work fifteen likely hands, without owing 
a dollar in the world beyond my store accounts. Our 
neighbors are all simple matter-of-fact sort of people, 
making no pretensions to anything extra, but yet good 
enough in every sense to suit me. But my wife and girls 
are (or set up for being) quite of a different stamp. 
They aim to cut a figure on every occasion, pique them- 
selves on having an instinct about affairs of fashion, 
(though I assure you, sir, they never saw a really fash- 
ionable lady but once in their whole lifetimes), and run 
me yearly to no little expense in maintaining a sort of 
show, which I notice gives rise to more staring always 
than either envy or imitation. 

Nothing would do one morning last spring but they 
must fix up and pay a visit to town for the purpose, as 
they termed it, of shopping. We were used generally to 
move about on horseback, but nothing would do now of 
less respectability than a carriage. My poor old mother, 
who died last year, had an old hack of a barouche with a 
huge dickey seat and movable top, which she had left me 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 43 

on her dying bed as a memento of her earliest married 
life, not at all with a view to its use or value. We had 
not used it since the day w'e landed in Mississippi, and 
time had dealt very considerably and evidently with it. 
Part of the top and one lamp were entirely missing, and 
with all the search imaginable could not be paraded ; and, 
besides, the harness had so fallen to pieces that I had to 
destroy several rope halters to tie them decently together. 
A pair of substantial plough bridles and two stout shuck 
collars, in lieu of those which had been lost, made the 
gears, at length, complete ; but where to find suitable 
horses was the next difficulty. I had several nice fillies 
and fine colts, whose spirited looks and glossy coats 
would have made quite a good appearance had I been able 
to have persuaded my women to go a horseback ; but as 
for working them in a vehicle, you miglit as well have 
tried to hitch up a brace of wild bucks. The only re- 
source was to take two of the farm mules, whose natural 
vicious dispositions had been sufficiently subdued by age 
and hard service, and which might, therefore, be safely 
ventured without the least apprehension of a dangerous 
prank. The next greatest obstacle was to find a driver, 
for amongst all my men not one had ever handled a car- 
riage rein, and my mother's coachman had died a month 
or so before his mistress, of chronic rheumatism. My 
wife's ingenuity, however, came to her aid in this pinch, 
and she determined to risk old Jerry, a superannuated 
negro, who had been thrown in to me at a gentleman's 
sale the year before, to go along with his wife and child 
whom I had purchased. The old fellow had been raised 
to the business, but had not driven for many years, and, 
before setting out, fairly owned to me that in crossing 



44 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

rugged places he dreaded a fall, as he had entirely for- 
gotten how to motion for the play of the springs. But no 
excuse would now answer my wife and the girls, and, 
treating him to a stiffdram of rum to brighten his spirits, 
as they said, they insisted on dressing him off in a suit 
of my old Kentucky jeans, though there was full a foot and 
a half difference in our heights, not taking into account 
the old fellow's bow legs, which, I assure you, sir, de- 
scribed a complete circle betwixt the hips and the feet. 

Thus arranged, we sat out, my wife and the girls in 
the barouche, whilst I rode one of my blooded mares, 
with my son behind. But the plan had liked to have 
failed from the very start. Not being used to their new 
caparisons, my mules would not budge a foot from their 
tracks, although Mrs. Plainlove and my girls kindly en- 
deavored to aid by rocking their bodies to and fro so as 
to coax them to keep up the motion ; whilst old Jerry, 
mounted on the dickey with all his ancient dignity, 
stamped terribly on the dash-board, keeping up, at the 
same time, such a constant clucking and whistling that 
I feared the muscles of his mouth would tire down soon 
in the action. The worst of it was that my foreman had 
absolutely forbidden the use of a whip as sure to produce a 
fit of violent and dangerous kicking up. Failing in all other 
attempts, the old fellow seemed at last to conjecture that his 
mules were not sufficiently aware of their liberty to move, 
and he would lean forward and throw the reins loosely 
about their hips so coaxingly and indulgently that I made 
sure the hint would be taken. Not so, however, and I 
had at length to call one of my plough lads to assist us, 
who, unbuckling the reins and advising the old driver to 
hold on steady, gave the lead mule such a monstrous jerk 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 45 

by the mouth, at the same time kicking her violently in 
the side, that they both started off in a full trot, not stop- 
ping until they came to the big gate, the boy in the mean 
time running along at the side. 

Without stopping, sir, to recover the various little 
mishaps which fell to on the way, such as stalling now 
and then, an occasional break about some part of our 
rickety vehicle, and one or two falls on the part of old 
Jerry, all of which gave great offence to my wife and the 
girls, whilst it tickled our mischievous pet of a boy be- 
yond measure, I will just say that we reached town just 
five minutes after eleven o'clock, having started from home 
about a half hour before day. As we got opposite the 
Baptist church, a large quality carriage, filled with as 
starchy a set of fine ladies as I ever had seen in Nash- 
ville, and drawn by two fiery bay horses, rushed passed 
us in full trot, and it made such a flashy appearance be- 
side our old crazy barouche that I repented sorely, plain 
a man as I am, I had humored my women in allowing 
them to come in that way. When we got into the main 
streets, I soon noticed that our looks and equipage pro- 
duced quite a sensation. The sight of the fine carriage, 
Mr. Rambler, had recalled to old Jerry some of his former 
coachman glory, for he was now grinning most hideously, 
with his mouth stretched from ear to ear (although, sir, 
he had not a single tooth in his head); whilst my girls, 
who had observed one or two gentlemen acquaintances 
on Market Street, kept bobbing and ducking their heads 
at a rate which left no doubt of the great pleasure they 
felt at the recognition. I thouMit that I detected a smo- 
thered laugh on the lips of one of these sparks as his eye 
fell on old Jerry and the mules; and on the corner, when 



i« 



46 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

another bowed as we passed, I actually saw him clap his 
hand to his mouth the minute after, and force a violent 
fit of phthisic to conceal his rudeness. I really could not 
blame them much, but I thought, as they had been many 
a time at the bran dances which my girls give occa- 
sionally in the summer season, that they might have 
tried a little harder to greet with decency and respect 
the first visit the poor creatures had ever made to town. 
We made but slow progress up the street, despite of 
the vigorous clucking and drumming which old Jerry 
managed to keep up in order to divert the attention of his 
mules (which really looked about as much pleased as 
any inside of the carriage) ; and it was not without con- 
siderable scuffling that we at length drew up in front of 
a large store, and prepared to alight. We were ac- 
quainted with the storekeeper and his principal clerk, and, 
knowing my snug means, and plain, punctual business 
ways, they received us with every possible demonstra- 
tion of joy, shaking hands cordially with my wife and the 
girls, and kindly saying that they hoped we had come at 
last to make a big bill. I could not but be gratified at 
the warmth of their behavior, but their fine manners put 
my women into such an ecstasy of good humor that I 
feared they would go too far, in returning it, for my no- 
tions of economy. When we entered the store, two or 
three of the younger clerks, who were seated near the 
door, observing the marked deference and pleasure with 
which we had inspired their superiors, bounced up from 
their seats with astonishing agility, and then, not taking 
time to walk around, slid over the counters with a mo- 
tion like that of so many terrapins sunning themselves on 
some old floating log. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 47 

We were now all arranged along the main counter at 
tolerably regular distances apart, with a view, I suppose, 
to full room for action, mounted on high slender stools, 
with a salesman stationed obligingly opposite to each. I 
confess these ominous preparations caused me to blench 
slightly, but as it was now greatly too late to draw out, 
I had to content myself with a resolve to sit still and look 
sharply to the affair. I observed, however, with some 
uneasiness, that the storekeeper was adopting the same 
sort of tactics on his side, for he stood apart from the 
rest, leaning on the show-case, with his eye fixed stead- 
ily on his clerks all the time. I endeavored by various 
feints and demonstrations to draw him from his position, 
but as he did not show any attention I soon gave over in 
despair. 

My wife and her daughters asked first to look at some 
calicoes and nankeens. All hands immediately fell to 
work, and bolt after bolt was dashed on the counter with 
such a rapid succession of booms that I verily thought 
they would strip every shelf before stopping, besides the 
risk of some stray one falling over and upsetting all three 
of my women, who were perched up much higher, any 
way, than they had ever been accustomed to. After thus 
piling the counter, the head clerk, who was serving wife, 
just to the left of my place, unrolled a piece of stout 
goods, and, catching a crimp or two between his thumb 
and forefinger, would give a kind of the most dextrous 
snap I ever beheld, by way of proving its strength. Sa- 
tisfied with this proof, besides admiring the color and 
texture, my wife ordered ten yards to be cut off and laid 
aside. The yardstick was produced, and, having cut off 
the requisite number, he took from his vest pocket a neat 



48 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

pair of scissors, and as my wife was kindly preparing to 
hold the part next to her that she might assist in cutting 
straight, he just made the least bit of a slit at the point 
he had marked, and then, twirling it nimbly up and drop- 
ping the scissors, jerked the cloth asunder with a sudden 
smash that started every nerve in my body to work, 
whilst my wife, finnicky and starchy as she was looking, 
fairly ducked her head for wonder. In a trice more it 
was wrapped and tied, and then tossing it away up, 
whirling over and over, he caught it alertly in one hand, 
to the delight of my little boy by me, who watched these 
capers with every sign of astonishment. We next inti- 
mated a desire to look at some crockery ware, leaving 
Hannah and Charity to finish our purchases of dry goods, 
and were marched off to a different part of the house, 
filled with crockery, cutlery, and various species of hard- 
ware. Here this agreeable young man began a round 
of caprioles, which convinced me that he had set out to 
fulfil the hopes of a big bill sure enough. He laid his 
right hand on a pile of different-sized dishes, and gave 
them such a terrible shake and jingle that I really thought 
it had been his intention to break them to pieces ; but, 
before the trembling motion into which he had thrown 
them fairly ceased, he managed to extract one from the 
middle almost without our seeing so much even as the 
attempt, and in another instant it was balanced on the 
ball of his thumb, and being slung around at the rate of 
half a dozen times the second. This sleight-o'-hand work 
being over, and the requisite number of plates, dishes, 
• tureens, slop-bowls and sugar-vases duly set aside, all 
which he averred to be of the very best quality then ma- 
nufactured, he next showed us some tumblers. Here 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 49 

again he ventured a trial to prove the stoutness of his 
ware, which I thought wholly unnecessary, for, seizing 
one of them, he hurled the bottom down on the counter 
with a violence and ferocity of look which argued nothing 
short of destructiveness. But my wife, who was a shrewd, 
sharp-witted woitian (although a little too frickety on the 
score of humoring our girls' fashionable airs), was not 
to be caught by such pretences as that, and luringly 
asked the young gentleman to try the mettle of his tumb- 
ler in the same way on the other end. This he declined, 
however, saying, very properly, that the design of making 
the bottom so hard and heavy was to guard the other end, 
as in the event of a fall it was thus sure to light on its 
bottom, I treasured this remark, INIr. Rambler, and have 
often thought since how many things in this world were 
too top-heavy for the bottom they carried. 

When we got back to where the girls were dealing, we 
found Hannah trying to fit her head to a Leghorn bonnet, 
assisted by one of the younger clerks, who obligingly 
held a small looking-glass before her face. Our friend, 
the head clerk, seeing this, ran up to the girl, and de- 
claring he had saved one of these bonnets expressly for 
her to buy, took hold of the sides of the one she was try- 
ing on, and bent it nimbly about her cheeks, once or 
twice managing to clasp it under her chin, and then 
ended by saying that it fitted her every way, to which I 
could plainly see my girl was fully agreed. At the same 
time. Charity was endeavoring to fit on a pair of kid slip- 
pers, and was seated, in her stocking feet, on a trunk 
which stood in a passage between the counters. Our 
accommodating friend had an eye also for this business, 
and I saw him select out a bronze-colored pair, and after 
5 



50 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

expatiating on their beauty and suitableness, proceeded 
himself to take hold of my daughter's foot and thrust it 
into the shoe, declaring that he never saw a pair go on 
so smoothly. He then caused her to stand up, and him- 
self seizing her frock and petticoats, with one hand 
clasped them tightly around her ankle, whilst with the 
other he pressed the shoe more closely to the foot, so that 
she might see and admire the full fit, protesting that he 
never beheld anything more beautiful in his life. I did 
not hear any dissent, either, to any of these propositions 
on the part of Charity, and felt I would certainly have 
the bronze slippers as well as the Leghorn bonnet both 
to pay for. 

Gloves were next asked after, and Mr. Fred. Smiley 
(which was the head clerk's name) declared boldly he 
could show the prettiest ever brought to this market. 
Upon this he took down a neat paper box, and, pulling up 
the top, displayed, I must say, as handsome a variety as 
I had ever seen, though totally unsuited to plain country 
people like ourselves. There were blue, and pink, and 
yellow, and purple, all shining in very taking arrange- 
ment. I saw the eyes of both mother and daughters 
fairly blaze up at once, but when Mr. Smiley suggested 
that they would be so nice for those fine bran dances at 
Frogmarsh (and the sly rogue had been at many a one), 
I saw that he had made the master hit of the day, for my 
women all made a dash to secure a pair right off. The 
two girls succeeded in squeezing on a pair without much 
diflSculty, but their poor old mother, who had gone through 
substantial service in her day, found it not so easy to 
pull hers on, and expressed some fear of tearing them. 
Whereupon Mr. Smiley drew forth a large singularly 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 51 

formed set of wooden tweezers (for I can call them no- 
thing else, for the life of me), which he introduced by turn 
into each finger of the glove, causing them all to flare 
out softly and snugly enough. Thus aided, my wife 
was enabled to run her fingers in with all ease in the 
world, and declared that the tweezers had just done the 
thing exactly to her hand; in fact, she said, better than 
if they had been made for her. 

Whilst all this flaunting was a-going on, Mr. Rambler, 
I turned to one of the clerks, and simply asked to look at 
a sample of shoes which might do for our little boy 
(some six years old), intending not to commit myself to 
buy a pair if I should not be mightily pleased. Whether 
it was that he half-way suspected this from my manner 
of speaking, or that he had caught a cue from his supe- 
rior, I know not, but instead of taking out only a few 
pairs to show me, he called another to his aid, and to my 
chagrin and confusion, he handed forth a huge drawer 
full of them, and, w^ith a glib twirl, emptied the whole 
contents on the counter before me. After all this trouble 
on their part, I could not think of disappointing them, 
and of course chose one or two pairs of shoes, when I 
might have done very well without any. This brought 
to a close the purchases we had intended to make, and a 
few more, but when I would have had my W'Omen pre- 
pare to leave, Mr. Smiley insisted that we might need 
Other articles, and as we were now in town, suggested 
that we had best make hay while the sun shone. I, of 
course, understood all this as being nothing more than 
talk, but my fashionable ladies thought it might be 
deemed rude to leave so abruptly, and kindly intimated 
their willingness to look at anything which Mr. Smiley 



62 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

should desire to show them. With this he fell to afresh, 
and fairly charmed them with the sight of perfume vials, 
and scented soaps, and fancy combs, and flashy ribbons. 
He then persuaded himself that we might want a looking- 
glass, and catching up a couple he carried them nimbly 
to and fro before the girls' faces ; and although they so 
struck in the sun once or twice as almost to strike the 
whole of us stone blind, yet the poor creatures looked de- 
lighted. These being also declined, he next took it into 
his head that my wife wanted a new parlor carpet, and, 
without waiting for a reply, yea or nay, ran to a place 
on the counter where several huge bolts were standing 
upright, and with a heavy blow of his fist he tumbled one 
of the largest on the floor. Cutting the threads which 
confined it, in an instant, he stepped back, and with a 
monstrous kick, which I thought would have disjointed 
every toe on his foot, he started the bolt to unfolding itself 
at a most rapid and furious gate, and indeed it continued 
to run out until it was stopped by the door of the count- 
ing-room. The figures were so pretty, and the quality 
so fine, that Mrs. Plainlove at once decided to purchase 
a carpet; but I objected peremptorily, because of the im- 
possibility of our ever getting home if that was added to 
the present load, even allowing that my saddle-bags 
should be crowded chock full. Our friend, however, man- 
fully protested that he could so pack it the weight would 
never be felt, and the room it would take just nothing at 
all. So the carpet, Mr. Rambler, was bought, and it 
being then after two o'clock, we prepared at last to start 
home. 

This was, though, much easier prepared for than exe- 
cuted, in our situation. When I came to look in the ba- 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 53 

rouche, I found such mountains of bundles and boxes that 
I utterly despaired of seeing my women so squeezed in 
as to be comfortably seated ; and even if we succeeded 
in that, I began to think it very doubtful whether old 
Jerry, exhausted as he was, could prevail on his team to 
undertake the pulling part. 

But I must reserve this, Mr. Rambler, for another num- 
ber, having extended this further already than your wor- 
thy publisher may fancy. 

Yours, with due regard, 

PYNSENT PLAINLOVE. 

Of course, my dear S , I did not calculate other- 
wise when beginning these sketches than that I should, 
in time, have quite a number of collateral correspondents, 
among whom I value none higher than your excellent 
and simple-minded friend Mr. Plainlove, and with whom 
we are both so well acquainted. I have often shared his 
abundant and cheerful hospitality, and though his dwell- 
ing may not be always easily found, yet it is none the 
less pleasant after you once get there; and if his person 
shall not be easily identified, it is because his visits are 
always unostentatious, having never before or since come 
to town with his family. A RAMBLER. 



54 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 



CHAPTER V. 

Mrs. Winny Wiggins, in a letter to tlie Rambler, gives an account of her 
marital wrongs, with a thrust at Free Masons, Odd Fellows, and Sons 
of Temperance. 

I HOPE, my dear S , that the following apropos epis- 
tle, from a fair correspondent, will not be considered as at 
all deprecatory of that commendable spirit of benevolence 
which characterizes our community in the respect alluded 
to in the letter. It appears to be simply the testimony 
of a plain woman regarding a praiseworthy monomania, 
which prevails quite extensively in our city. 

It were well for mankind, my dear friend, if there ex- 
isted no more harmful species of mania, and its existence 
and popularity here is doubtless the mainspring to that 
active and unparalleled generosity which so widely 
alleviates distress and aids misfortune, and which renders 
Columbus a pleasant abode to all who have ever experi- 
enced within its boundstheheavy-heartedness of adversity. 
But for fear that further remarks may tend to prejudge the 
matter of the following letter, I desist, and go on to 
transcribing it for publication. 

Columbus, April IZtJi, 1849. 
To THE Author of the Rambler : — 

You must not think me indelicately forward or imper- 
tinent, Mr. Rambler, because I take the liberty of address- 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 55 

ing you before trying to find out who and what you 
are. I sliall leave to others the agreeable task of conjec- 
turing both these, not deeming them at all important to 
my purpose, which is to ask that you adopt and bring 
what follows before the public in a suitable and receiva- 
ble shape. I am not used to writing for papers ; being 
a plain and poorly educated woman (like the majority 
of ray unfortunate sex, to the shame of mankind), with a 
plenty of children and household duties to occupy my 
whole time and attention. But if I cannot round off 
smooth sentences, and ' string together metaphorical 
pearls, I trust I know, at least, how to make myself un- 
derstood — which is not to be said (asking your pardon) 
of all who write now-a-days. 

It is not customary, Mr. Rambler, for ladies todisclose 
their ages, but I will begin my story by telling you that 
/ was just twenty-nine yesterday. I was married near 
ten years ago to a young man of fine habits and good 
business turn, who was tolerable well ofTin life, and Provi- 
dence has blessed our union with nine likely children, 
who are alive and healthy at this time. 

Before removing to Columbus (which was year before 
last), my husband kept store in a pretty little village of 
Alabama, and people never lived more happily than we. 
My husband was full of tenderness and attention, and I 
endeavored to perform all the duties of a good and devoted 
wife. After the close of the day's labors, and when the 
children were romping and rattling through the humble lit- 
tle cottage which we had rented, it used to bringtearsofjoy 
to my eyes as I watched his cheerful and contented looks. 
He often declaretl to me then, Mr. Rambler, that the sight 
of my face (though, indeed, sir, my looks are but home- 



56 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

ly), at such moments of domestic hilarity, was to him the 
loveliest in the world, and that no out-of-door pleasures 
could ever compensate for being absent from that happy 
circle which gathered nightly around our own fireside. 
But those delightful days are now at an end, and I shall 
always lay the blame to our removal here. 

The sources of unhappiness in my situation are very 
different from those of other unfortunate married persons. 
It is not of my husband's idleness or extravagance, his 
ill temper or his avarice, that I have to complain ; nei- 
ther does it proceed from diminution of our conjugal 
affections, or disagreement in our religious or domestic 
matters. In fact, Mr. Rambler, the cause must be ex- 
plained at large; it cannot be told in one word, or ex- 
pressed in any single term. 

You must know, then, that about three months after 
our arrival here, my husband joined the church. In this 
I heartily sympathized, and, after a short time, followed 
his good example. Our circle of friends soon increased, 
and all went on smoothly and pleasantly enough, though 
I could not help regretting that my husband left us so very 
often of nights to attend prayer meeting, or other sorts 
of meetings connected with the business of our church. 
I trust that the indulgence of this regret was not wrong, 
but what with absences to attend these, and the constant 
arrivals of strange ministers from a distance, who preached 
of nights, I seldom had the pleasure of enjoying my hus- 
band's company after tea, and already began to look 
back with fondness to the happy days of our early mar- 
ried life, when every evening brought a return of domestic 
bliss around our quiet fireside. Alas ! little did I dream 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 57 

then of what I would, in the end, be compelled to under- 
go in these respects. 

A month or two subsequently to his joining the church, 
I observed my husband busily poring over a little pam- 
phlet, night after night, when he was at home. In vain 
I tried to overlook him unawares, to find out the nature 
of what so attracted and absorbed his attention. He was, 
however, always too quick for me, and would manage 
to change his position just in the nick of time, to prevent 
my getting sight of a single word. At length, one eve- 
ning, directly after tea, he abruptly left us, when I knew 
that there was no church meeting, and was absent until 
long after the nine o'clock bell had rung. I had re- 
tired at least an hour before he came in, perfectly tired 
out with W'aiting, and the children were all soundly 
asleep on the trundle-bed. On returning, he undid the 
door-bolt without the slightest creaking, and advancing 
cautiously on tiptoe through the room, whisked off his 
clothes in a trice, and slid softly into the bed, hoping not 
to awaken any one. This conduct very naturally surprised 
me, and of course I could not refrain from asking where in 
the world he had been. Imagine if you can, Mr. Ram- 
bler, the consternation and despair with which I was 
seized, when he informed me that he had just been ini- 
tiated as a mason! Heavens! I had liked to have jumped 
out of my skin, and so far from sleeping, I did not so 
much as close my eyes the enduring night, and suffered 
all the next day with a violent headache in consequence. 
Here, thought I, is the beginning, truly, of the end to our 
lovely little family gatherings and cheerful home-joys ; 
and although my husband attempted to justify the step 
he had taken on the score of usefulness and enlarged 



58 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

benevolence, I confess that I was far from being recon- 
ciled. 

We were now rarely together oftener than three nights 
out of the week, and the pleasure of bis company on 
these occasions was always half marred bythe thought that 
others now divided his evening hours with wife and chil- 
dren. But this is not all, Mr. Rambler. A day or two 
afterwards I had occasion to ask my husband for ten 
dollars, intending to gratify my baby, and relieve myself 
of such constant nursing, by purchasing the gum-elastic 

baby-jumper which Mr. F r had advertised as the 

only " one of the same sort left," when he excused him- 
self by saying that he really was short of money, having 
just paid out thirty dollars for the Blue-Lodge degrees. I 
did not then reply, but you may rest assured, Mr. Ram- 
bler, that I did not fail to think what, as a good wife, I 
was unwilling to speak out. Well, I managed to digest 
my chagrin in the best way I could, and was beginning 
to get somewhat used to this state of existence, when my 
happiness of mind was again invaded by a shock of the 
same character, only it was much more severe. Not sa- 
tisfied with absenting himself to prayer meetings (which 
was proper enough), and degree meetings at the Blue 
Lodge, I observed that my husband was becoming again 
abstracted and thoughtful, and in less than a week after- 
wards I missed him the second time, for three mortal 
hours after supper. My fears were kindled in an instant, 
and I tortured myself with the idea that another step was 
about being interposed between my husband and his fa- 
mily joys. He returned much about the same time as 
before, and went through the same precautionary evolu- 
tions in preparing for bed. But my eyes had not been 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 59 

once closed, and again I surprised him by inquiring 
where on earth he had been so long. He answered eva- 
sively at first, but I pressed the question so vigorously 
that he was forced, at last, fairly to own he had just joined 
the Odd Fellows. Good gracious, Mr. Rambler, how do 
you suppose I received this news? I could scarcely 
support the shock, and as the remembrance of the dear 
lovely evenings at home, which once had made us so 
happy, floated through my mind, tears came involuntarily 
to my eyes, and sorrow seated herself within my heart. 
Unable to perceive the least degree of plausibility in the 
reiterated argument of increased benevolence, and more 
wide-spread usefulness, connected with this last Order, 
I surrendered to the woful conviction that all this was to 
be purchased at the expense of that cheerful comfort 
which had once charmed the long winter night, and 
caused the very walls of our little cottage to smile and 
look glad. 

Again was another night or two of the week snatched 
from that prized list which had been formerly all ours, and 
the children and myself had to make the best of it we 
could. But this was not all in this instance either. It 
was now clever winter weather, and one morning at 
the breakfast-table I begged my husband to attend Mr. 

K r's auction that night, as I understood things were 

a-going just for nothing at all, and buy me a bolt or two 
of linsey-woolsey to make winter frocks for the girls, and 
slips for the little boys. Again I was mortified with a 
refusal, and with a request from him to wait awhile, as he 
had been forced to spend ten dollars more in goingthrough 
the initiatory degree of Odd Fellowship. So, thought I 
(determined to keep count of the cost from this day forth), 



60 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

my husband has thus far paid forty dollars for the privi- 
lege of being benevolent and useful, besides the weekly 
contributions he gives to these two fraternities, which 
profess, both, the sa/ne objects. Winter passed and spring 
came, and Columbus was literally and suddenly put all 
agog about Father Mathew and the Sons of Temperance. 
From the way people talked, Mr. Rambler, I really ex- 
pected that Mr. S — • — 1 and Capt. S n would make a 

bonfire of all their fine liquors in a day or two,, as a grand 
holocaust to this resurrected phoenix of Temperance. 
You would have' supposed that such things as mint-juleps 
and sherry-cobblers would never again sparkle on a gen- 
tleman's sideboard, and that Christmas morning would 
no more be made merry by bowls of foaming egg-nog, 
and tankards of bubbling Tom and Jerry. My poor 
husband was transported with enthusiasm, and, although, 
as I verily believe, he never drank so much as a pint of 
ardent spirits in his whole lifetime, was among the first 
who stepped forward to fonn the division. To all my 
remonstrances he turned an inattentive ear, and insisted 
that I should even throw away a small cask of sour Te- 
neriffe, which I had kept on hand to flavor my sauces 
with. He declared it was worse than arsenic or any 
poison, and announced his intention to make spruce beer 
and ginger-pop his only beverages for the balance of his 
life. To my very natural inquiry why he, who never 
used spirituous liquors, should wish to pay his money and 
time away for a pledge, he returned for answer that it 
was for example's sake, although, I assure you, Mr. Ram- 
bler, that his mildness and tolerance of temper are such 
that he could never use the language of rebuke, even 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 61 

though a drunken man should annoy him for half a day 
at a time. 

I thought all this very proper talk, but you perceive, 
Mr. Rambler, that it was only another step towards de- 
stroying, finally, our fireside evening gatherings, and 
family convivialities. It so happened, too, a short time 
after this last adventure of Mr. Wiggins's, that I was 
seized wath a distracting toothache ; and when I asked 
him to step around to the drug store and buy me a vial 
of the drops which I had seen a cruel-looking man, with 
a cunning leer, shaking at a demure, suffering creature, 
who was painted by him on the same picture, I was told 
that his last spare change had just been paid out for the 
privilege of setting a good example, and that I must try 
to ease my pain with laudanum and hot poultices. I 
think you will agree with me, Mr. Rambler, that this was 
more than even the best of wives should endure, and I 
felt bound to let him have a piece of my mind. I said 
that I could not see why a man should want to join half 
a dozen Orders, all possessing the same principles, just 
to learn benevolence, and be a member of the church 
too. This was the first time I had ever tried such an ex- 
periment, and I think my argument stumped him for a 
while; but, so far from its having inspired the wholesome 
influence I looked for, guess my surprise, Mr. Rambler, 
when, on asking for a small sum, soon afterwards, to buy 
Jemima, our eldest girl, a pair of Sunday slippers, I was 
told that he had just sent in his last loose dollar with a 
petition to join what he called the Fountain ! His excuse 
for this last project was that he wished to encourage the 
rising generation. 
6 



62 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

Thus you see, Mr. Rambler,. that I have witnessed, 
step by step, the gradual decay of my husband's love for 
his former domestic pleasures ; and, what with three sorts 
of Masonry, two kinds of Odd Fellowship, two classes of 
Temperance Sons, and the Lord only knows how many 
Fountains (not to mention the weekly prayer-meetings), 
my last hope of a return to the delightful mode of life 
which charmed our early days of marriage has vanished. 
"When you cast into account that the days are all taken 
up in attention to business, you will believe me when I 
say, Mr. Rambler, that I never see my husband except 
at meal-time and bed-time. To these, I thank God, he 
is yet quite punctual, but how long it will be before this in- 
ventive people will get hold of some other plan of spoiling 
domestic joys I am not able to say. Indeed, Mr. Ram- 
bler, so much have I taken these manifold deprivations 
(o heart, that the sound of that abominable little bell, 
dinging and donging almost every blessed evening, to 
assemble some one of the lodges, always throws me into 
a nervous fit, w^hich I fear will end in settled hysterics. 
Some two or three months ago, I felt so alarmed at the 
rapid increase of this malady, which has seized Mr. Wig- 
gins, that I called on our minister, the Rev.. Mr. Ezekiel 
Maultext, and dutifully laid my complaints before him 
for counsel and advice. He positively declined taking 
any part, saying that Mr. Wiggins was exemplary as a 
man and Christian, and even insinuated that / should 
pray for a contented and calm mind. Thus, failing in 
everything else, Mr. Rambler, I determined to give him 
a view of himself in your moral looking-glass, hoping 
some good effect may be produced. If such shall be the 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 63 

happy consequences of your publishing this letter, you 
will insure the lasting gratitude of a disconsolate wife. 

Yours, &c. 

WINNY WIGGINS. 

I am half inclined, dear S , after a careful examina- 
tion of the foregoing letter, to agree with the prudent Mr. 
Maultext in his opinion of the true remedy necessary to 
reconcile the disconsolate Mrs. Wiggins. It is clear that 
my correspondent does not understand the nature alid 
polity of the excellent institutions she complains about; 
and, although we may be inclined to coincide with her at 
first about the taste of joining all of them when, perhaps, 
any one ought to have satisfied his benevolent thirst, yet 
we must not rashly condemn Mr. Wiggins, who will, 
doubtless, take an early occasion to vindicate himself. 
We should be careful about believing that so worthy a 
man could coldly neglect his family duties, and, from 
mere idle curiosity, " seek to run a muck" through all 
these meritorious fraternities. I will not deny but what 
I think there is much good sense, and vastly more truth, 
in the old maxim, "a Jack at all trades, and master of 
none;" and I am prepared to admit that there is danger in 
subdividing our interests and sympathies. It is a policy 
ill adapted to develop that unity of strength so essential 
in perfecting all useful projects, and may beget a rest- 
lessness and inconstancy of mind seriously deleterious 
in their results. It certainly tends to weaken salutary 
influence in any one sphere, and to inspire a species of 
distrust even with the least severe and suspicious. A 
man would do poor business who undertakes to do, all in 
the same breath, the work of doctor, and lawyer, and 



64 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

parson, while he professes to be a planter. His neigh- 
bors would be induced to question the depth of his inte- 
rest in any one of these callings, and to doubt his sincerity 

in all. But I hope, dear S , that Mr. Wiggins will not 

take these remarks as intended to aim at him. They are 
thrown out merely by way of general annunciation, and 
I would not, for the world, be thought capable of at- 
tempting to prejudge his defence. I have no doubt but 
that he will make all appear straight and justifiable. 

A RAMBLER. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 65 



CHAPTER VI. 

Mr. Mansfield Coke, in a letter to the Rambler, describes his first ap- 
pearance in the circles of the elite. 

Blackstoneville, Ala., 3[ay Vltli, 1849. 
To THE Author of the Rambler : — 

Having learned from a friend, sir, that you were en- 
gaged in compiling a number of sketches for the amuse- 
ment and edification of the public, I make bold, without 
waiting for a ceremonious introduction, to send you the 
following, with the humble hope that it may be found to 
suit your purpose. 

T know not if you will recognize me — but several years 
ago I was a law student in your city, and had the plea- 
sure to meet with you on several occasions, though no 
formal acquaintance was made ; and I studied in the office 
of one of your most prominent lawyers, who kindly in- 
structed me without remuneration, and through my con- 
nection with him was occasionally introduced into some 
of the most accomplished and fashionable families of the 
city. I was the son of poor parents, and had been raised 
very plainly. When I had reached about my fifteenth 
year, it happened that a strolling phrenologist passed my 
father's house, and, it being quite late, made application 
to spend the night. This could not be refused, and after 
supper he approached my seat, and running his fingers 
inquisitively about various parts of my head, put on a 

6* 



66 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

face of astonishment, as though he had made some great 
discovery. My father, who was rather a choleric old 
gentleman, took it into his head that the fellow was mak- 
ing game of me in our own house, and doubled his right 
fist quite ominously ; at which the operator only laughed, 
and then said he had been examining the organs of my 
head. He declared that the developments were extraordi- 
nary, and rubbed his fingers over several hard knots, which 
he declared to be certain evidences of genius. Upon this, 
my father and mother followed in the examination, and, 
believing most implicitly everything that was told them, 
began right away to calculate their abilities to give me 
a good education. All this soon transpired in the neigh- 
borhood, and I became the wonder of the girls, and the 
envy of the lads. I was the hero of all the quilting par- 
ties, and led off in every dance with the choice partners 
in the room. In short, I was generally recognized as 
the big spark of the range, and when it was announced 
that I was soon to start to a classical school far distant, 
preparatory to entering upon the study of the law, the 
deference to my person was increased, and my head 
began to swell. I worshiped phrenology as a hidden 
mystery, and blessed the day when its votary chanced to 
straggle under my father's humble roof- 
In the course of a year or so, I was taken from school, 
and, as I have said, entered, a student, with one of the 
members of your bar, in Columbus. I did not find that 
my uncommon skull developments set me ahead in the 
least when I came in contact with the dashy young gen- 
tlemen and brilliant ladies of that agreeable place. On 
the contrary, whenever I went to church, or accepted an 
invitation to a private house, I felt a degree of awkward- 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 67 

ness which was extremely unpleasant to one of my mo- 
dest disposition, especially when contrasted with the high 
figure I had cut of late years amongst the honest, simple 
neighbors at home. To tell the truth, sir, I was bound 
fairly to acknowledge to a friend my perfect greenness. 

I was sitting quietly one spring morning in my office, 
poring over a page of old Chitty's Pleading, more than 
usually fertile in pompous technicalities, when my friend 
across the passage, who had already been admitted to 
the practice, entered suddenly, and startled me with ask- 
ing " j/" / had a horse to ride to the fete on Thursday 
evening y As (I found afterwards) this was a Provin- 
cialism entirely peculiar to city life (« la mode), I did 
not understand any more what he meant than if he had 
addressed me in Dutch or Congo. All was, however, 
presently explained, for he had scarcely asked before a 
bright, smiling servant-boy tapped at the door, and, in- 
quiring for me by name, thrust before me a nicely-em- 
broidered French basket, filled with w^hat I took to be a 
number of golden edged notes, all adorned with pretty 
figures and mottoes. I really thought that it had been the 
intention of some one to make me a general delivery 
agent, and under this impression ordered the servant 
to empty the contents in a large pine box under the table. 
A broad stare was all the answer he gave, and, had not 
my friend broken into a loud laugh, I believe I should 
have given the fellow a buffet on the head for his impu- 
dent looks ; but, on glancing accidentally in the basket, 
and seeing my name on the back of one of his notes, it 
all at once occurred to me that it might be a party ticket. 
It proved to be such, for, on opening the envelop, a little 



bb MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

bit of a nice sheet of paper dropped out, inside of which 
was the following : — 

" Mrs. Blanche Lyttleton, at home on Thursday eve- 
ning, May 23, 184—" 

Aw^ay off in one corner, I observed the word " dancing" 
in brackets, which I did not exactly understand, and 
resolving to ask immediate explanation of my friend, I 
dismissed the servant with a message (and my thanks) 
to his mistress, to the effect that I would be there if 
well. 

I could neither make out the sense of being " at home" 
without saying wdiether she was going to give a tea-party 
or what, nor why Mr, Lyttleton did not join in the busi- 
ness. But when my friend restrained his mirth sufficient- 
ly to unravel these mysteries to me, and I was informed 
that such was {\ni fashionable way of asking to parties, I 
saw through the whole matter at once, and was fairly 
charmed with the account he gave of this fine lady and 
her parties. No one could make up so many nice eata- 
bles ! no one had such elegant wines! and no one could 
bring together so many pretty girls, or have such merry 
dances, as Mrs. Blanche Lyttleton ! I saw, already, whole 
mountains of snow-white cakes, and my mouth was fairly 
overflowed with water at the thoughts of that sparkling 
liquor ; whilst kindling fancy pictured some lovely dam- 
sel, blazing in lace and jewelry, already smitten W'ith my 
fine appearance, for I was universally conceded to be the 
crack dancer in my own village of Blackstoneville. A 
warm glow spread over my whole body as those raptur- 
ous and inspiring pictures floated through my mind; and 
as it was only a night and day to the time appointed, I 
resolved to live sparingly in diet, so that I might be in 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 69 

proper trim for the splendid feast I so anxiously antici- 
pated. 

Filled with these booming thoughts, and taking no little 
consequence to myself in having so engaged the attention 
.of this fine lady as to be thought worthy of an invitation, 
I began to wash and dress on the evening in question 
full two hours before sunset, fearing that I might be too 
late forthe first table. I completed mytoilet just at clever 
dusk, and, thinking it high time to be off, I left my room 
and took the direction of Mr. Lyttleton's house. When 
I got there, I was somewhat taken aback at not seeing a 
solitary light on the lower floors, nor any signs of bustle 
or of company anywhere about. I passed on beyond the 
gate, and, happening to look over into the yard, I saw the 
same sprightly fellow who had brought me the ticket 
walking briskly from the kitchen to the house, with a 
large w^aiter filled with heaps of the nicest and whitest 
cake I ever beheld. This again took me aback in a dif- 
ferent way, for my heart quaked with the fear that supper 
was going on, and that I had, at last, overstaid the time. 
So I halloed to the negro, and inquired if the party had 
commenced, and whether all the people had come. The 
fellow made no positive reply, but with a polite duck of 
the head asked me to walk into the gallery and take a 
seat. 

I had been seated only a few moments when, to my 
utter surprise, Mr. Lyttleton himself entered the gate in 
his every-day clothes, evidently just from his office up 
town, and seeming to be occupied with anything else 
than thoughts of a tea-party. I thought he started 
slightly on observing me snugly seated in his gallery ; 
but, as he was among the politest men I ever knew, he 



TO MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

soon recovered, and expressed the greatest degree of 
pleasure at seeing me, begging that I would excuse him 
for a few moments, as he would soon be dressed. Now, 
as we had been accustomed at Blackstoneville always 
to gather at parties at least by sunset, you may well 
imagine that I felt somewhat queer and dubious to find 
the gentleman of the house coming home at this late 
hour to dress. Still, there was no remedy but to sit still, 
with eyes wide open, and observe the course of things ; 
and thus, sir, I sat for one long hour after another, won- 
dering and impatient enough, until at last I heard the 
nine o'clock bell ring. Just then a large flashy carriage 
drove up before the gate, and Mr. Lyttleton (who had 
been politely sitting with me the last hour and a half) 
walked out to meet those who were about to alight from 
it. To my surprise, however, only a single lady was 
inside, and, as she swept into the house, I caught sight 
of the prettiest blue eyes I ever beheld, and heard her 
laughingly tell Mr. Lyttleton that she had hurried off 
rather early, so as to get there in time to help Mrs. Lyt- 
tleton prepare for the reception of the company! My 
God, sir, I was positively shocked! Here was a lady, 
arrived after usual bedtime, apologizing for having 
come so soon, and 1, hapless mortal, had been quietly 
waiting for the party ever since clever dusk! This, 
thought I, would set all Blackstoneville in a blaze of 
wonder — getting together to dance and frolic after the 
finest part of the night was gone. 

In less than fifteen minutes after this, at least fifty car- 
riages had come up, filled with ladies and gentlemen, 
whilst there was no end to those who came afoot, though 
these were pretty much all gentlemen. I still kept my 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 71 

seat at the side of the door, and had a fair chance to see 
every lady as she passed in, for there was the brightest 
sort of a lamp swung up just in the centre of the passage 
inside. As yet, I had not caught a glimpse of Mrs. 
Blanche Lyttleton, for neither she nor her husband, to 
my utter astonishment, stood at the door to receive the 
company. Only two servants were there, one of whom 
took the hats, and the other, a tidy-looking yellow girl, 
conducted the ladies through to a different part of the 
house. In a few minutes, however, both parlors and the 
passage were crowded, and T never in my life heard 
such a buzzing and fussing. At Blackstoneville, we 
always sat pretty silent until "Grind the bottle," or "Sis- 
ter Phcebe one" was proposed, and it was only after we 
played both of these that dancing began. 

At the end of an hour or so, Mr. Lyttleton, observing 
that I was too modest to move about much where I knew 
so few, came up and insisted that I should go with him 
into one of the saloons, and be introduced to the ladies. 
I of course did not decline the obliging offer, especially 
as I had taken so much pains to rig myself out for the 
occasion. One thing, however, caused me to misgive a 
little. Thinking it was to be a regular dancing affair, I 
had, according to our way at Blackstoneville, fixed up for 
the very purpose, and had bought a nice limber pair of 
Morocco pumps and silk stockings, in order to have the 
free use of my feet. I had also made my washerwoman 
do up my favorite ruffle shirt (which used to catch the 
eye of all our village girls), and had brought the safety- 
chain of ray watch gracefully over the plaits confined by 
a neat breastpin. But when I entered the room, I saw 
that every gentleman present had on high-heeled boots 



72 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

just the same as if they had been going to church, and 
instead of ruffles most of their waistcoats buttoned up 
halfway to the cravat. I could not but notice all this, 
and felt that I w^as rather awkwardly situated, for my 
feet especially w^ould be seen to attract universal atten- 
tion with such a contrast against them. I was tolerably 
proud, however, and felt my own importance rather too 
much to allow such a matter seriously to disturb me, and 
so swung through the crowd with quite an air. Presently 
we stopped in front of a sweet-looking lady (the same I 
had seen arrive first), seated on a something I could not 
see — for her frock covered up the whole concern — and 
Mr. Lyttleton introduced me as his young friend to Miss 
Russell, who w'elcomed me with one of the prettiest 
smiles that ever dimpled a woman's cheek. One or two 
gentlemen were standing before her when my introduc- 
tion took place ; but they soon managed to glide softly 
away, and in a few moments, rather to my confusion, I 
found myself standing in the middle of a large room filled 
with fine ladies, face to face with one whose every glance 
went plunge through me, and no one else near, and most 
everybody else seated, I gave one startled look around, 
and then my eyes fell. Every eye, I made sure, was 
now fixed on my feet, with their pumps and silk stockings 
shockingly exposed to a sweeping view on all sides. I 
contrived to stuff away my starched ruffles so as almost 
to hide them ; and then, to keep my hands from dangling 
and fidgeting about, I gathered hold of my safety-chain, 
and twirled the watch-key on it around and around at a 
furious rate. How I longed, for the moment, to be at my 
own Blackstoneville, leading down the merry country 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 73 

dance with romping Ecsy Sims or Patsy Callihan, the 
admired on all hands, the very lion of the night! 

I was partially relieved in a short time by hearing all 
at once the inspiring sound of violins in an adjoining 
room, and this easily explained the cause of the sudden 
evacuation by the younger couples of the one in which I 
had been left. Miss Russell bounced up from the stool 
she was sitting on in a trice, and then, throwing her arm 
through mine with a touch of her soft hand that almost 
made me swoon with ecstasy, proposed that we should 
go and join the dancers. I had many a time, sir, play- 
fully handled our girls at Blackstoneville, and they had 
given me many a sly, substantial squeeze ; but I never 
shivered before like I did whilst that warm, snow-white 
arm, shining with little jeweled belts, rested in mine. 
Sometimes the touch was so very slight as scarcely to be 
felt at all; and then, again, she could manage, the pret- 
tiest in the world, to press down the whole weight on 
mine in such a way that I really feared my nerves would 
jar me to death. And once, when a parcel of gentlemen 
were rudely crowding past, as she grazed my shoulder 
with a touch of her own, all naked smartly below the 
joint, a fit of perfect blindness came over my eyes, and 
I involuntarily grasped her hand to keep from sinking. 
This had nearly finished me right away, for my fingers, 
no matter how, once clutched around that soft and 
glowing piece of flesh, I could no more unclasp them 
of myself than could one, unaided, release his hold from 
the handles of a heavily-charged galvanic machine. 
Good Lord — thought I, sighing — there never was, and 
never can be, anything in Blackstoneville to hold even a 
light to such as this ! To tell the truth, sir, I was begin- 
7 



74 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

ning to bless myself at being in high life, and to thank 
Mrs. Blanche Lyttleton for her ticket from the very bot- 
tom of my heart. I forgot all about the pumps, the silk 
stockings, and the stifT ruffles in my bosom. 

When I came to my proper senses again, I found that 
the sweet creature had gently and unconsciously to me 
disengaged her hand, and that we were standing face to 
face with another couple across the way, with two others 
paired off on each side, forming what I heard them call 
a cotillion. I was perfectly riddled with these arrange- 
ments, for we had never danced any outlandish dances at 
Blackstoneville. 

But when I heard the fiddlers strike up, with a mea- 
sure and time wholly unknown to me in dancing, and 
one of them exclaim, at the top of his voice, something 
about balancing A, and swinging corners, and forward- 
ing two, and then crossing over to leave your partner, 
and then again forwarding three, and forwarding one, 
and shassay, and promenade — I was perfectly done up. 
My bewilderment was complete when the charming crea- 
ture by my side whispered that they were going to dance 
the *' prisoner." Notwithstanding all this, however, I 
determined to put on a proper face, and so demean my- 
self in the dancing part as to make full amends for any 
ignorance of the figure. But when the first couple began 
to move to the music, I was astonished to see both ladies 
and gentlemen merely slip and slide about as if they were 
afraid of a fall. I thought, however, that this might be 
only their way of getting ready for the high flourishes. 
At any rate, I felt that I could beat such bending and 
twisting as that all hollow, and began to pique myself on 
having so lovely a partner to witness my accomplishments 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 75 

and agility. But one thing botliered me excessively. I 
did not know how to do the swinging, or skassaying (as 
they called it), or balancing ; and I was totally at a loss 
how to accommodate myself to the time of the time, or 
tunes — for they kept changing them about at every step. 
However, I made out very well until, on crossing over once 
with my partner, she was suddenly seized and detained 
by the gentleman opposite, leaving me standing in my 
place all alone. But presently they all three, in a bunch, 
came sailing and slipping over to me in high glee, my 
partner both times smiling most alluringly at me as she 
came up. It suddenly occurred to me now that, as she 
was there a prisoner, the gist of the figure was to make 
a full grab for her as she neared me, and wrest her from 
captivity. I accordingly prepared to do as much, when, 
to my utter consternation, the fiddler sung out ^^ forward 
one!'''' Several times, during the progress of the dance, 
I thought I had detected a half smile playing over the 
mouth of one or two in the cotillion ; and now, as I stood 
staring for a moment, not knowing exactly what to do 
(for I was the first who had been called on to go it alone), 
my suspicions were verified. This determined me to make 
a venture, and to change their mirth into envy by a 
display of skill which, I felt sure, from the specimens 
of dancing I had witnessed, would properly surprise them. 
So, with a nimble skip to the right, I cut the flying pigeon 
wing at the height of full half a foot from the floor ; and 
then, bounding over to the left with a single spring, 
struck off" the double shuflfle at a rate which w^ould have 
distanced the best jig time. I had intended to go 
around the whole circle, before stopping to get my partner, 
with my favorite step of hoeing the corn, but I was suddenly 



76 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

arrested in mid career in a manner which soon brought 
the stinging blushes to my face. These extra and unex- 
pected capers of mine (for so I learn all genuine dancing 
is denominated now-a-days) had been too much even for 
the amiable and truly polished company before whom 
I was performing; and as I paused in the double shuffle, 
to change step, the music suddenly and sharply ceased, 
and all around, fiddlers, as well as others, seemed con- 
vulsed with uncontrollable laughter — in which, despite my 
mortification, I was obliged to join. All passed off good- 
humoredly. There was nothing offensive or unbecoming 
in the mirth, for, among those who had come in from the 
other rooms to look at the dance, was the grave and dig- 
nified gentleman in whose office I was reading, and whose 
portly sides were shaking with laughter at my expense. 

This closed my experiments, as you may well imagine, 
sir, in the dancing line, at least among the elite. I found 
that character and reputation in one place were by no means 
a sure passport in another. The skill and agility which 
would have set the head of every man and woman in 
Blackstoneville all agog with wonder and envy produced 
here the most poignant and mortifying ridicule. 

After dancing a hundred different other figures, pretty 
much after the same fashion of the first, Miss Russell, 
who declined all other solicitation, on purpose to give me 
the pleasure of waiting on her, managed to inform me 
that the couples were making way to the supper room, 
and that I must accompany her. I did not require a 
second hint, for by this time, it being full one o'clock in 
the morning, my appetite was properly whetted, having 
tasted nothing since an early breakfast on purpose that 
I might enjoy the party supper. Indeed, I had been in 



• MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 77 

despair for an hour or two, or more, fearing that we were 
to have nothing more substantial than the cake and wine 
and lemonade which had been several times handed 
around in the course of the evening, though I had re- 
lished them even not a little. But we had scarcely now 
cleared the dancing room before my smell w^as charmed 
with most delicious scents of turkeys, and salads, and 
savory old bacon, and a variety of other eatables, easily 
distinguishable by their fragrant odors, all which caused 
my tongue fairly to swim inside of the mouth, and created 
an eagerness to press forward which I could hardly con- 
trol. So keen had my long fast made me to take hold, 
that I was almost insensible to the touch of that same 
sweet arm which still rested in mine ; and although in 
the crowd the lovely creature was pressed once or twice 
full tilt against me, the gnawings of an empty vStomach 
aided me this time in resisting the enchantment, and 
deadened every sense save that of the most longing ap- 
petite. 

The sight which greeted my eyes on entering more 
than equaled the expectations created by the luscious 
heraldry of fragrance which had floated through the pass- 
age. In the midst of lofty mounds and pyramids of cakes, 
were seen large bowls of saffron-colored custard, with 
snowy flakes floating on top, with whole hosts of odorous 
strawberries scattered around, and at regular distances 
silver baskets, filled with oranges and bananas, and other 
fruits; whilst at every pace or two decanters of sparkling 
wine sent forth their delicious flavor. There was no end 
to the plates of snow-balls, and hearts, and sweet wafers, 
and candies; and, thickly interstrewed, there were tempt- 
ing piles of sliced pineapple, filling the whole room with 

7* 



78 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

their enticing fragrance. " Jewhillikin !" thought I, sur= 
veying this bounteous and beautiful display, "this is a 
long trot ahead of anything ever seen in Blackstoneville, 
and Mrs. Blanche Lyttleton trips up Ecsy and Patty in 
short order!" I would have given something more than 
a trifle if the poor girls could have been present, though 
I verily believe, sir, it would have run them crazy. 

But the cream of the supper had not yet been shown. 
As soon as the company was pretty well arranged all up and 
down the tables, I saw the servants lift off the tops from 
several large tureens on a side table, and a savory steam 
immediately circulated through the room which fairly ra- 
vished me, and I could hardly contain myself within decent 
bounds of behavior. My fair partner brought me to 
myself by smilingly desiring me to bring her a plate of 
gumbo, and as this request exactly hit my own taste, I 
set off at a rapid pace to obey her. I made my way 
through the crowd, gathered a couple of plates, had them 
filled in a trice of time, and, returning at full speed, pre- 
sented one mess to my partner, and, had it been the 
last act of my life, I had been obliged to dispatch the 
other. 

In short, not to worry you with a fuller account of the 
progress we made at the supper table, I will just say 
that between the meats and the cakes I took a full revenge 
for my intolerably long fast. Among those who officiated 
at the gumbo tables, I had noticed a stiff and stately 
lady, whose studied politeness and bland manners caused 
me to pay my obeisance to her as the hostess, for she 
was just the sort of personage I had imagined the famous 
Mrs. Blanche Lyttleton to be. But I was much mis- 
taken. On leaving the supper room, we encountered, in 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 79 

the passage, a group of several gentlemen engaged in 
lively conversation with a sprightly, fair-haired, bright- 
eyed lady, dressed with singular taste and neatness, but 
rather below the medium height, whose clear, merry 
laugh rang in my ear like music. I was struck with her 
vivacity and graceful manner of conversation, and was 
never more agreeably surprised in my life than when 
Miss Russell stopped and introduced me to her as Mrs. 
Blanche Lyttleton. She welcomed me very prettily, and 
said she was pleased to see me there. "Pleased !" I re- 
peated ; "excellent lady" — thought I — " she cannot be 
better pleased than I am." 

I began to catch the hang of everythiag wonderfully 
well as the evening closed and morning advanced, and 
regretted that the party could not last all night. But, w^orst 
of all, Mr. Rambler, I hated to part with the lovely and 
beautiful creature w-ho had guided me through the whole 
affair, and so kindly borne with all my rustic awkward- 
ness. I wondered if all fine ladies could be like Miss 
Russell and Mrs. Blanche Lyttleton! "Ah!" thought 
I, "if they were, how^ much more ought their amiability 
of heart to be envied and patterned than to be exciting 
groveling and low jealousy among women of less exalted 
station." 

True politeness is the test of really fine people. Here 
was I, a poor, obscure country lad, who had committed 
several ludicrous blunders, and been guilty of some ac- 
tual indelicacies unconsciously; and yet not the slightest 
neglect was offered me, and I received as much atten- 
tion as the finest gentleman present. To make a long 
story short, sir, I have now been a lawyer several years 
in my native village of Blackstoneville, enjoying a mn- 



80 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

derate practice, and happily married long since. But I 
must say that I have never since been to quite so nice a 
party as Mrs. Blanche Lyttleton's ; and (asking Mrs. Coke's 
pardon) have never met with a lovelier lady than Miss 
Russell. Yours, most respectfully, 

MANSFIELD COKE. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 81 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE OLD NEGRESS AND HER SON. 

This sketch, my dear S , cannot strictly be con- 
fined in its application and consequences to Columbus or 
its vicinity, although the circumstances may have trans- 
pired, many years ago, within its limits; and then, again, 
they may have dated elsewhere. Be this as it may, they 
happened whilst yet I was a youth, and the impressions 
made on my mind from having witnessed them were 
not only stamped thereon with all the force which such 
occurrences make usually on susceptible natures at that 
golden period of life, but are likely to retain their hold 
till my dying day. 

The facts of the case may be briefly stated. A wealthy 
planter, whose pecuniary circumstances were partially 
embarrassed, sickened suddenly, and died within a few 
hours after being attacked. He left no wife, and his 
children were scarcely more than infants. The landed 
estate was not sufficient, even at the most favorable prices, 
to liquidate the debts of the deceased, and it was found 
necessary to sell a portion of his slaves. This species of 
property was then at a high value, and the executors 
deemed it a good opportunity to dispose of all the slaves 
left by the testator, with a view to lessen the risks and 
increase the estate of the minors. Accordingly, an order 
of court was obtained to sell all or what portion they 



82 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

chose, and an advertisement was posted to that effect, and 
rapidly circulated. As usual on all such occasions, a large 
number of buyers congregated on the day of sale, some 
desirous of purchasing men only, some women, some 
again young boys, and others young girls. All were 
anxious to avoid the encumbrance and risk of small chil- 
dren. Under these circuaistances, and the affair having 
gone too far to be mended or reconsidered, no course 
consistent with the pecuniary interests of the minors was 
left, save to sell separately, each one by turn, without 
regard to husband or wife, parent or child, excepting only 
the tenderest aged infants at the mother's breast. It 
happened to me, my dear sir, to be present, though not as 
a purchaser, for I was then a minor myself. 

I recognized most of those who were huddled, in me- 
lancholy groups, beneath the relentless hammer of the 
salesman. There were the faces of old, faithful servitors 
of the deceased, the patriarchs of his quarters, the com- 
panions of his early life, the fast and truest friends of 
those whom he had left behind. Around them were wives 
and children, and grand-children, and connections of 
every degree — all about to be parted, and awaiting the 
stroke which was to consign them, perhaps, to a hun- 
dred different masters. Their thoughts would seem 
sometimes to wander to the past, when all lived happily 
together in their smiling cabins, under one kind owner, 
in whose family all had been raised — and a heavy sigh 
or glistening tear would involuntarily attest the mournful 
welcome of the recollection. . Then, again, they became 
abstracted, apparently, with conjectures of the gloomy 
and chilling future, arrayed in tenfold horrors to them 
who had never felt the weight of servitude as it is, some- 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 83 

times, unfortunately felt ; and now and then, as an in- 
quisitive and keen-eyed speculator would fix his gaze on 
them, I could see the ill-disguised palpitation of heart, 
the convulsive tremor of voice, as they responded to his 
various questions. Their countenances were shrouded 
in deep melancholy, and their spiritless eyes and sluggish 
attitudes told full well the tale of their fears and appre- 
hensions. I could not but call to mind, as I beheld them 
there, the joyous scenes of many a harvest night in by- 
gone years, when I had seen those same eyes sparkle 
with the light of simple jovialty as one of the number 
would mount the lofty corn-pile and trill forth the rustic 
song ; and I felt the full glow of sympathy, as imagina- 
tion would bring freshly and almost sensibly to my ears 
the deep-toned melody of the "wild chorus which would 
go sounding over hill and plain, and echoing in harmo- 
nious cadences, through wood and vale, miles off, as each 
merry soul chanted his response to the leader. The 
glowing spirits, and harmless, mirthful revels of their 
happy Christmas holidays — that time of festival and gai- 
ety which, amongst this unfortunate people, lightens all 
the burdens, and compensates for all the ])rivations of 
whole years of hard labor, and which is, emphatically, 
the grand gala-day of their lives — all these floated over 
my memory as I looked now on those fallen eyes, and 
dull attitudes, and I gave way unconsciously to gloomy 
and overpowering revery. Ah, happy, thrice happy days 
of childhood! when the sorrows of the past, and the fears 
of the future, are alike shut out from reflection ; when 
the present beams with smiles ; when everything looks 
bright; and when that world whose all of happiness is 
found in after life to consist either in grateful associations 



84 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

of the past, or buoyant hopes of the future, seems too 
charming and too full of delights ever to be soiled with 
prints of sorrow, or clad wuth that deceptive garniture 
which transforms the loveliest of its visions, and which 
tempts man to encounter its chilling realities! 

Conspicuous among the number assembled on that 
melancholy day was an old negress, of a bright mulatto 
complexion, whose merry-looking face had been familiar 
to me for many years, and who was known by all who 
were connected with the family of the deand master to 
have been an especial favorite — favored for the warmth 
and depth of her devotion to him and to his little chil- 
dren. I had often, when a small boy, visited her neat 
and cheerful hut, and shared, wdth genuine pleasure, her 
rude and primitive-like hospitality. Coarse and homely 
as they were, I shall always remember the repasts of 
fried eggs, and ash-cakes, and nicely broiled young 
chickens, with which she rarely failed to treat me on the 
occasions of these visits. She lived on a portion of the 
farm through which glided the lovely brook in whose lim- 
pid waters it was my custom to angle of Saturdays, or 
late of summer evenings, when the old field school I 
attended was dismissed ; and her humble cot had often 
sheltered me from a sudden shower, and witnessed many 
a mirthful romp with the lively sister of her young mas- 
ter (then himself under the paternal roof), whom I there 
often used to surprise. Poor old Nanny! how changed 
was the scene now — how sadly changed! I have lived 
to taste of much of what is called the world's pleasures 
since. I have dined with the great, the wealthy, the 
fashionable, often ; yet, from amidst all these, I can recall 
now no fond scene half so welcome, or half so grateful, 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 85 

as those charming sylvan scenes in the hut of that poor 
old negress ! 

But happy though she had been in possessing a kind 
master ; indulged as she was in all her tasks, and rejoic- 
ing in the simple pleasures of her negro lot, Nanny's had 
been a life of domestic sorrows. She had raised a family 
of fine boys and girls to see them snatched away, one after 
an other, by a relentless fever, and the burial-ground of 
the farm was filled with the mouldering objects of her 
best and strongest affections ; for a master only can know 
how strong a negro mother can love her offspring. At 
length she had lived to see the husband of her youth, to 
whom she had clung through a long life of connubial 
union with a fidelity to be admired even in higher spheres, 
carried to the same lonely resting-place; and she was left 
with only one little boy, the gift of their old age, the so- 
lace of her declining years. He was then just beginning 
to run about, and playfully aid his old mother in driving 
up the young fowls as night came on; and, slave though 
she was, and born to privation and labor, I could not but 
experience an emotion of the purest attachment for both 
as I watched the gleaming eye of the mother as it fol- 
lowed the sprightly little fellow in his gambols. He was 
allowed to remain with her long after the time when 
planters usually call their hardy young slaves to the field. 
The last time I had seen him was on a Christmas morn- 
ing, several years afterwards, when he came over to the 
great house (as southern negroes call the master's man- 
sion), with his mother, to bid good health to master and 
mistress, and endeavor to catch them, or some of the 
family, in a Christmas gift. Few of us who own slaves, 
as you very well know, my dear S , ever refuse to 



86 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

grant this innocent and appropriate indulgence to these 
creatures of our will ; and I remember well paying the 
penalty to old Nanny and her little Joe, on the morning 
in question, as I happened then to be spending the holy- 
days with her master. After breakfast, I proposed that we 
should take a leisure stroll, for remembrance sake, over the 
old tramping-grounds of other days; and, meeting with a 
ready and cheerful assent, we sallied forth by the same old 
path, over the same substantial stiles, through the same 
fields and meadows where I had so often rambled of yore. 
In this excursion, we were followed by bevies of little black 
urchins, clad in their Christmas vestments (which were 
purchased during the year from the neighbors' children, 
for partridge eggs and young squirrels), and showing 
rows of the whitest ivory as they trotted along behind, 
rejoicing in the festive occasion. I need not mention 
that my friend, little Joe, was a prominent personage in 
this sable throng ; for, in fact, it had been his presence, 
in company with his old mother, that had suggested to 
me the idea of the ramble, strange as the fact may appear 
to many who shall read this sketch. We came first to 
the old moss-covered spring, bursting up boldly at the 
head of a lovely little glen, in the midst of tall poplars 
and overhanging shrubbery, and pouring its silver-co- 
lored, rippling stream into the large brook which ran not 
far off. Within its rock-lined basin, I had often, in past 
days, when an inmate under the hospitable roof of the 
former master, dipped and cooled the watermelon, freshly 
gathered from the field adjoining, to fit it for a noontide 
repast ; and from which, also, I had seen the dairy-woman 
draw many a bottle of ice-cold milk for the sultry summer 
night's meal. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 87 

Passing on, we ascended, at a buoyant pace, to the 
brow of the rather lofty hill beyond, from which could be 
seen the old family mansion, in the midst of its tall oaks 
and graceful China trees, with its hedges of lilac and 
eglantine stretching along by the garden, and up the long 
lane in front — a picture I had loved in other days to be- 
hold, when, early of a spring morning, I accompanied 
the hardy sons of the fine old planter on our Saturday 
angling excursions. From this point we wound along 
through a beautiful wood, passing many a venerable 
oak or chestnut, from whose boughs my gun had often 
tumbled a hapless little squirrel, until we came in sight 
of the lovely meadow on the other side, and through 
which glided, like a thread of glowing silver, the stout 
brook which watered the plantation. 

As this fine and well-remembered scene opened before 
me once again, teeming with fond associations of past 
time, and glowing with many a loved passage of those 
guileless days, I involuntarily called to mind those beau- 
tiful lines in Sir Walter Scott's Marmion, and felt the full 
impulse of poetry which inspired them : — 

" Thus, while I ape the measure wild 
Of tales that charmed me yet a child, 
Rude though they be, still with the chime, 
Return the thoughts of early time ; 
And feelings, roused in life's first day, 
Glow in the line, and prompt the lay. 
Then rise those crags, that mountain tower, 
Which charmed my fancy's wakening hour. 
Though no broad river swept along 
To claim, perchance, heroic song ; 
Though sighed no groves in summer gale, 
To prompt of love, a softer tale ; 



88 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

Though scarce a puny streamlet's speed 
Claimed homage from a shepherd's i-od, 
Yet was poetic impulse given 
By the green hill, and clear blue heaven : 
Still, with vain fondness, could I trace, 
Anew, each kind, familiar face, 
That brightened at our evening fire ; 
From the old mansion's gray-haired sire — 

To him, the venerable jjrtesif. 

Our frequent and familiar guest, 

Whose life and manners well could paint 

Alike the student and the saint." 

Following the course of the stream (it could not, my 

dear S , be really called "jo?my"), we came at length 

to the margin of the old pond, dotted with huge rocks 
here and there, which had been placed originally in the 
water, with a view to constructing some sort of machin- 
ery, and over whose greenish heads the currrent had 
roared and dashed for many a long year. Here I had 
often pulled out scores of young catfish, and horny-heads, 
and pink-bellied perch ; and here, too, amidst the babbling 
waterfall and moss-embowered scenery, had indulged 
many and many a wild day-dream of boyish love and 
ambition. With the ardent fancy of youth, I had often 
seen the bright face of my fair-haired lassie in the watery 
mirror before me, and heard her voice in the rustling 
breeze which shook the sweet shrub bushes around ; whilst 
I listened to the roar of the rapid torrent, as it leaped 
over rock and mound, with a feeling somewhat akin to 
that which may have inspired the Greek orator as he 
harangued the wild billows of the /Egean Sea. The 
. thoughts of years crowded on my mind as I stood by this 
treasured spot, watching the freaks of the little black 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 89 

boys, with my friend Joe at their head, as they skipped 
and bounded nimbly from rock to bank, across the bab- 
bling stream. It was as pleasant a Christmas revel as I 
ever enjoyed — this witnessing the sport of a group of 
unfortunate striplings, filled with nothing but devotion to 
those who owned them, and whose humble heart-offerings, 
because of their degraded birth, are far too seldom culti- 
vated by even the kindest masters. Ah! my dear S , 

a little familiarity with our own race, as the world goes, 
will soon convince a master that offerings from this quar- 
ter are far more sincere than from those we meet in an 
equal sphere of society. 

Not far from this, as I have elsewhere stated, was the 
lowly, thatched tenement of my old friend Nanny, and I 
could not resist the temptation to wander far enough out 
of the way back to the house to take a farewell look al 
the familiar old place. The door was locked, and no one 
was about. A mellow-toned chanticleer mounted, with 
flapping wings, the top of an old rotten post which sup- 
ported the gate, and gave a wild, merry crow as we ap- 
proached ; but this was all the welcome we met with, and 
I proposed at once to return. 

Long years succeeded, and rolled away, and (return- 
ing from my digression), the next time I saw little Joe, 
the merry-faced negro boy, was on the day when he first 
was made acquainted with a heavy heart. He was stand- 
ing, with his hands clasped, silent and melancholy, beside 
his weeping mother. He was no longer the light-hearted 
little urchin of the Christmas morning. The growth of a 
few years had done wonders, and he had attained to the 
size of a smart, half-grown boy, though he had not seen 
more than a dozen summers. His kind master was dead 

8* 



90 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

— his master's orphans were mere children — and there 
were none to protect him, in this sore hour of trial, from 
the imperative grasp of the law. His mother was too old, 
and likely to prove too much of a burden, for any one to 
care much about buying her ; whilst his own sprightly 
looks and well-shaped limbs were likely to induce lively 
competition amongst the bidders. I read his thoughts, 
as though each one had formed a letter, and pitied the 
poor desponding boy from the bottom of my heart. 

It was the most mournful and soul-touching sight I 
ever beheld — that cheerless, spiritless group ! It is usual, 
at most sales of the character of the one in question, to 
witness more or less of this apprehension and gloom among 
the slaves doomed to the block; but I am sure I never 
saw such a universal display of feeling as I beheld on 
that day. 

The hour arrived — the sheriff ascended the court- 
house steps, and the sale began. One by one the slaves 
were brought, and exposed to full view from the block, 
and knocked off to the highest bidder, and at rates 
which showed that such property was in brisk demand. 
The bidders made every effort to allay their humanity, 
and to nerve themselves to the highest pitch of callous- 
ness and indifference. They were not ansv^^erable for 
the sale; it was a dead appeal to self-interest; and the 
terrified children were thrust forward as the choice fell 
on them, and bought up separately, without the least re- 
gard to the calm imploring looks, and silent tears, and 
patient endurance of their suffering parents. But pity, 
in its naked shape, and taken apart from interest, was 
not wholly wanting. The heart of the Southerner, how- 
ever, in this respect, framed by custom and education, is 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. ' 91 

never, on such occasions, entirely lost to the touch of 
sympathy. Whilst all, as was natural, struck eagerly 
for their interest, and made such selections for purchas- 
ing as best suited them, no one sported with the feelings 
of the distressed. They who directed the sale often stayed 
a rising tear as some scene of family parting occurred, 
and the bystanders frequently clubbed to buy in families, 
in order to gratify their attachments and feelings. It 
was only when some straggling speculator or distant 
resident was heard bidding that signs of suffering grew 
uncontrollable and impressible ; and at such moments 
many a glistening eye was discernible amongst those who 
attended the sale from mere motives of curiosity, or, per- 
chance, to yield a look of encouragement and sympathy 
to the despairing victims of the law. 

At length I saw the sheriff beckon to Joe. Calmly 
and tearlessly, he obeyed the summons with an active 
spring, which seems to have been ventured to destroy his 
fears. A stifled sob, in his rear, answered the call made 
for him to ascend the block, and, for a single moment, he 
paused at that evidence of maternal suffering. I thought 
his heart would fail him, and looked to see the tears roll 
from his large, woeful, bright eye; but, at that time, he 
gave the bound spoken of, and faced the crowd with a 
look of mingled humility and calmness which nothing 
seemed likely to disarm. The buyers pressed more 
closely around the stand as he was offered, for he was 
one of the likeliest boys of his kind, and a dozen bids 
simultaneously caught the sheriff's ear. These evidences 
of competition went like the stroke of death to his mo- 
ther's heart, and, though affliction had dealt severely with 
her in former years, the consolation remained that the 



92 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

children she had buried were gone home to the grand, 
common master of owner and slave — of bond and free. 
But now the gift and pet of her old age, in whom all that 
was left of her early love was devotedly centered, w^ho 
had never slept a night from under her lowly cot, was 
doomed to pass an ordeal vastly more trying than death 
itself to a mother's heart. These harrowing reflections 
disarmed her of all fortitude, and moans of deep anguish, 
burstinof from the full fountain of maternal tenderness,^ 
mingled with the cries of the busy auctioneer, and brought 
sorrow to many a humane and manly heart. Some, it is 
true, who had been schooled to regard a negro's nature 
as next akin to that of the brute, looked with astonish- 
ment at these burning evidences of grief, but far the 
greater part of those present yielded the hapless mother 
their sincerest sympathy. Several of the old negro men 
who had been raised up with her, and who had just 
passed through the same ordeal to which she was now sub- 
jected, gathered around her with friendly intent, and strove 
to comfort her. But it seemed as if the sorrows and trials 
which had been smothered for years were now weighing 
herto the earth, aroused bythislast " unkindest cuf'of all. 

I never coveted, before or since, my dear S , a lavish 

abundance of money ; but, at that moment, I felt as if thou- 
sands would have been only as a feather in the balance 
weighed against this acute and overwhelming, not to say 
irreparable, maternal distress. I have seen our fair-haired 
mothers bending over the lifeless remains of a darling 
child about to be consigned to parent dust — I have seen 
them when afflictions besieged every penetrable avenue 
to their tender and susceptible hearts; but I never beheld 
the traces of grief and anguish so deeply furrowed as on 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 93 

the distorted features of that poor old negro woman when 
the hammer of the sheriff announced the fate of her only 
boy. He was purchased by a wealthy planter resident in 
a distant State, and taken immediately into safe custody by 
his new master, who, with a mistrust too common amongst 
slave-dealers, adopted the severe and repulsive precaution 
of manacling his hands with stout irons forged for the 
purpose, and then confining him, by means of a strong 
rope, to the neck of his horse. It is this unwarrantable 
and useless severity, practiced by such heartless men, 
whose very severity argues a mistrustful and uneasy con- 
science, which gives to the enemies of our institution 
such room for rabid exaggeration, and which renders this 
feature of it odious even to its best friends. In the trans- 
fer of these unfortunate people (unfortunate always when 
forced to the block), a kind look, a benevolent expression, 
a single word of encouragement or sympathy, rarely fails 
to reconcile them in a moment to their altered lot, even 
when family connections are dissevered ; but when sever- 
ity is called to aid, before even suspicion or bad conduct 
is aroused, and barbarous precautions used to prevent 
what the victim has not, perhaps, so much as dreamed 
of perpetrating, it is only a matter of surprise and of con- 
gratulation that we have so few evil-minded and unruly 
slaves in our midst. 

When the sale was closed, I felt impelled to linger on 
the spot, hoping to fall on some happy plan by which to 
soothe the approaching separation of this poor negress and 
her darling boy, A humane and tender-hearted gentle- 
man present on the ground had bought the old woman 
for very compassion, and promised her every opportunity 
of going to see her son ; but nothing could assuage the 



94 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

horrors of the separation about to ensue, and- nothing 
could mitigate the dark forebodings and withering mis- 
givings which weighed on her mind in connection with 
her son's fate and treatment at the hands of one who had 
begun so roughly. The poor boy, despite all this, held 
out bravely to the last. He gazed with a look of stupefied 
horror at the manacles, as the new master forced them 
over his hands, and then turned, with tearless eyes, to 
receive the convulsive embrace of his agonized parent. 
But when, bound and fettered, he was at length rudely 
commanded to take up his melancholy line of march ; 
when the fond arms in which he had nestled nightly from 
his earliest infancy, clasped now for the last time around 
his neck, were forced by friendly hands from their nervous 
hold, and his aged mother was borne, sorrowing and 
heart-broken, from the court-yard ; when he received the 
last farewell of those old patriarchs of his native planta- 
tion by whom he had been raised, then the smothered 
fires of despair found vent, and the burst of manly grief 
which followed, and which attested the severity of this 
first shock on his young heart, thrilled every beholder, and 
w^ould have convinced the hardiest skeptic that natural 
affections, though restrained and subdued, are not whol- 
ly extinct in the negro's bosom because of his degraded 
lot. 

As an American, my dear S , I sincerely deplore 

and deprecate such scenes as I have here described, and 
thank God that they are of such rare occurrence that they 
often inspire with disgust every single beholder. As a son 
of the South, ardently devoted to her interests and insti- 
tutions, I view them always with shame and abhorrence. 
They are the more to be deplored and abhorred by all 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 95 

high-minded and enlightened Southerners because, in 
connection with our peculiar institutions, they are utterly 
irremediable by law. They are remediable only by the 
slower, but at the same time surer, progress of healthy 
public opinion. However crying and repulsive the evil 
(for evil every enlightened Southerner believes it to be) 
of selling and transferring slaves as any other species of 
property, dissevering all their family associations, and 
destroying all their natural affections, all penal enact- 
ments on the subject can result in nothing but its aggra- 
vation. Mistaken and misdirected (even though sincere- 
hearted) philanthropy is ever the most cruel and deplorable 
policy which unwise and unthinking zealots adopt in 
connection with ameliorating the condition of slaves. 

There are few slaveholders to be found who would not 
cordially embrace a plan which might so act as an alter- 
native as to do away with this single hateful feature in 
an institution which otherwise is so cherished by nearly 
all Southerners. But every evil must have its concomi- 
tants, and it is almost, if not quite, impossible to discon- 
nect barter and traffic with a state of absolute slavery. 
Judicious legislation may perhaps alleviate, indirectly, 
the evil, but the remedy exists only in enlightened public 
opinion, and here we must be content to let it rest. Every 
succeeding generation enters on the theatre of life with 
increased correctness and liberality of opinion concerning 
these concomitant evils of the great evil. The lapse of 
a few more will doubtless bring a most gratifying ameli- 
oration in every respect, and perhaps so mollify the 
unwelcome features of the institution, so alleviate its 
rigors, as to soften and subdue the asperity of even its 
most frantic opponents. A RAMBLER. 



96 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

N. B. Here, ray dear S , I take leave of you, in 

my character of the Rambler, and as the especial object 
of address. If these fugitive sketches shall ever attain 
publicity, there will be doubtless some curiosity among 
my readers to solve the enigma of your identity. Many 
will conjecture that you are merely an ideal creation ; 
others will cast about to find, as they think, the original 
and real character. One of these must be right — which, 
I shall not say. I can only remind all who are inquisitive 
on the subject of the celebrated motto of Junius's letters 
— " Stat nominis umbra." 

For the future, I shall drop the address, and may take 
a wider range, and pursue quite a different course. For 
the present, then, my fair friend, Vale — henedicite; may 
pleasures attend thy hopes, and flowers bloom in thy 
path! 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 97 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE LEGEND OF BLACK CREEK. 

In a secluded portion of this, our fine county of 
Lowndes, bordering on the banks of the swift-gliding 
Buttatchie, and several miles distant from the metropolis, 
is a nice little hamlet, which, whatever may be its de- 
signation familiarly, we shall for the present denominate 
Simstown. The few people who dwell in and around 
are plain, simple, mostly uneducated, and poor farmers, 
but famed throughout the county for their sturdy inde- 
pendence and inflexible honesty. Hospitality, too, is 
another distinguishing trait in their character; and it 
seems to have been inherited from time immemorial, in- 
asmuch as it comes as natural to them as their religion or 
love of country, and proceeds from no ostentatious and in- 
sincere love of company, or flaunting parade. They, more- 
over, belong to that rare class of citizens who prefer to at- 
tend strictly to their own business and occupations, and to 
neglect those of other persons in which they have no inte- 
rest; are seldom seen in town, except during court-week, 
or when a circus or menagerie is advertised to exhibit ; 
and never take any part in politics further than to vote 
just as they please, although they never fail to enter- 
tain strolling candidates in the most handsome man- 
ner ; oftentimes get up a barbecue for their especial 
benefit, and, indeed, become seriously offended unless 
9 



98 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

these pleasant gentlemen take a regular round through 
the neighborhood, visiting and staying all night separately 
at each cottage, which they claim without reference to 
party or persons. They have their own church, their 
own school, their own preachers and schoolmasters, and 
listen as attentively to a Mormon or Millerite as to the 
most genuine Baptist, or exacting Methodist itinerant. 
Intolerance is discarded from their principles, and whilst 
they are inflexible both in their religious and political 
opinions, a preacher of any denomination or class, like 
the candidate for office, has only to declare his business 
to receive a universal welcome. 

This seclusion and peculiarity of habit, on the part of 
these peaceful and contented neighbors, may naturally 
suggest to the sagacious reader an idea which this sketch 
is written especially to confirm, viz., that, living as they did, 
the good people of Simstown must needs be smartly super- 
stitious, and credulous on the subject of goblins and 
spirits. Indeed, they never pretended to deny their belief 
in the existence of such things; and every old housewife, 
and merry plough-lad, and romping piece of a lass, for 
miles around, could rehearse to the inquisitive listener 
divers appalling stories of sights they had seen of dark 
nights, and strange noises they had heard ; and occasion- 
ally one of the older wights would recount, by his blaz- 
ing chimney corner, to groups of staring children and 
terrified women, the wondrous perils and mishaps of some 
personal adventure of his own with these airy, frolicksome 
beings of another world. All these stories were caught, and 
of course spread, with every imaginable exaggeration, by 
the negroes belonging to the various farmers around ; and 
bending their whole active and magnifying fancies to the 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. • 99 

welcome task, these credulous and wonder-loving sons 
of Africa would charm and excite their masters' children 
with tales of Jack-o'-the-lanterns, and swamp owls, and 
whippowils, all of which were, with them, beings of 
speech and thought. Of the first they were most espe- 
cially afraid ; and when, after the close of their labors on 
Saturday evenings, and they had received permission to go 
to their friends' houses, on some adjoining plantation, one 
of these eccentric phantoms would spring up suddenly, 
from some damp place or old grave, they would reve- 
rently start an opposite course, and quickly turn their 
coats wrong-side outwards, which, they averred, from long 
experience and tradition, to be the only protective under 
such circumstances. If, unluckily, they had left home 
without a coat, and their path was crossed by one of these 
exhalations, they fully believed it was their duty to follow 
its course ; and many are the frightful stories they have 
been heard to tell of the ditches, and slashes, and briar- 
patches through which the phantom forced them to follow ; 
and here, sometimes, they would take some sort of shape 
and vanish suddenly up a tree, scaling all the bark off as 
they climbed, or else disappear in some lake or stream 
of water, which would boil and bubble for minutes after- 
wards. In the same way, if, in these night journeys, a 
large owl would shriek out suddenly a tu-whoo ! over their 
hea^s, or would begin a peculiar, indescribable sort of 
cackle, or laugh, these superstitious creatures would take 
off their hats in an instant, and respond in a pert, merry 
voice, "Oh yes, master!" just as if addressed by a hu- 
man being; whereas, the mournful notes of the whippo- 
wil never failed to inspire them with thoughts of death, and 
the first who happened to hear the sounds was uneasy for 



100 . MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

days afterwards, for fear that he would lose a wife or child, 
or perhaps a valued master or mistress, which he gene- 
rally considered a far greater calamity than the former. 

This credulity, and marvel-loving propensity, so gene- 
rally characteristic of our Southern negroes, may easily 
explain the early tendencies to superstition among the 
chivalrous Southerners; and which, even among the most 
intelligent, often makes impressions which last in full 
strength for years, and exert some influence through life, 
although, in mature years, the feeling becomes one rather 
of pleasant association than of awe. This is the case to 
a far greater extent among the simple-minded and unedu- 
cated classes than among what are called the higher cir- 
cles of society. With these it becomes, from habit and- 
association, part and parcel of their nature, and no instruc- 
tion or ridicule can banish the impression from their minds. 

Now it happened, that there lived, some years ago, 
among the people of Simstown, a worthy, ignorant, and 
industrious soul by the name of Tony Randull, or, as he 
was familiarly called in the neighborhood, singing Ran- 
dull. This singular cognomen had been attached to him 
in consequence of wonderful endowments in the line of 
religious singing, and the uncommon capacity of his 
lungs in the exercise of this favorite indulgence. Tony 
was a strict member of the Methodist Church, and always 
a conspicuous person at all of the camp-meetings. He 
was ever a welcome guest at the tents ; for, although Tony 
was never known to be missing from the stand, or from 
morning-prayer, yet he was a handy fellow at all kinds 
of out-door work, and never failed to pay for more than 
he ate or drank at any place where he sojourned during 
the festival — though surely no tabernacle was ever known 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 101 

to exact or look for pay on such occasions. The singing 
before and after service was, with him, the charm of life, 
and if the spirit was properly stirred up, and revivals 
began around the rustic altar, Tony looked as if he would 
go mad with joy and singing, and, as he himself expressed 
it, " it was just the thing he was cut out for." Indeed, 
I have heard one or two gray-haired old brethren, who 
sometimes loved a good joke from the very bottom of 
their honest hearts, say, with a sneaking smile, that Tony 
was the main earthly agent in working out his own con- 
version, for that he drowned all other voices in singing 
whilst the process was going on. He owned no property, 
had no wife or child, no relations in the State that any 
one knew of, and followed, for his living, overseeing on 
a small scale, jobbing about among the farmers, or taking 
their cattle, or staves, or any produce they might have 
for sale, to market in town. This last was his ordinary 
occupation, and as he always needed an assistant in 
case of a stall, or to mind the team whilst he was hunt- 
ing buyers for his produce, he always got permission 
to take alono; with him an old ne^ro fellow belonsfinof to 
one of the farmers, who had grown too old for plantation 
labor, and was, in consequence of this fact, and of hav- 
ing always borne a fine character, the next thing to a" 
free man. Old Ned, or, as Tony used to call him. Uncle 
Ned, was also a member of the Methodist Church, and 
was generally regarded by (he preachers who travelled 
the circuit as particularly gifted with grace, and was, in 
fact, the black patriarch of the settlement, trusted by all, 
and favored as well as respected, by all. Now Uncle 
Ned excelled as much in prayer as did Tony in the gift 
of singing, and for this reason, it is supposed, more than 



102 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

any other, he was the chosen friend of Tony, and his 
brother in the Lord; and they have both been often heard 
to liken themselves unto Jonathan and David, for Tony 
was a humble, pious man, and thought it not at all be- 
neath him to seek a friend from among this degraded and 
unfortunate race. As it was a considerable distance to 
town, these two chosen companions were often benighted 
in returning home ; and frequently, late of a night, long 
after all had gone to bed, the neighbors would be warned 
first of their approach by the mellow notes of sacred mu- 
sic, winding, in linked sweetness, through the valley, 
and then dying in distant echoes over the hills. At all 
such times, Tony would lead the tune, whilst old Ned 
chimed in with a strong, peculiar bass of his own, deep 
and full, and carried in most admirable concert with the 
highest pitch of his friend's tenor. As it was well known 
that both solemnly believed, in common with most of the 
neighborhood, in the existence of ghosts, and all the su- 
pernatural tribes, many conjectured that their fears of a 
visit from some quarter of this kind made them indulge 
in such lusty, fervent psalmody when they chanced to 
get overtaken by night. The sequel of the story will 
probably demonstrate that there was very considerable 
foundation for this conjecture. 

The road which leads, for most of the way at least, 
from Columbus to Simstown, is that which was cut by 
Gen. Jackson, in his celebrated march with the Tennes- 
see volunteers and a few regulars from Nashville to the 
frontiers on the Gulf of Mexico, when an invasion by the 
British was expected every month. It is known to this 
day as the military road, and is crossed, about six or 
seven miles from town, by a large, dark-looking stream, 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 103 

called, familiarly, Black Creek. It is a forbidding spot, 
shaded by huge willows and swamp-oaks, whose thick 
foliage imparts an aspect of gloom and terror sufficiently 
ominous to put a suspicious or superstitious soul on his 
guard, independent even of the ghostly associations con- 
nected with its history. To pass this place, so generally 
thought to be haunted, was always a sore trial, especially 
after dusk, to singing Randull and his old negro compa- 
nion, for they verily believed all the stories they had ever 
heard about the awful deeds which had been committed 
within its dark shadows, as well as the fact of its being 
oftentimes the scene of unearthly and abominable revels 
indulged by the wicked, wandering spirits, who had not 
yet been dead long enough to be confined. Here, it was 
said, a young Choctaw Indian, the son of a powerful 
chief, had slain his brother in a fit of anger, and then 
thrown his body, tied to a large bundle of stones, in the 
deep gulf or basin formed by a sudden sink in the chan- 
nel of the creek, just on the margin of the road. An 
aged Tennesseean, who died in the county many years 
ago, and who had been a soldier in the army of General 
Jackson, often told a story of how Old Hickory, having ar- 
rived on the banks during a tremendous freshet, and being 
impatient to get along, rashly ordered two young dragoons 
to try the depth of the ford, and how both of them were 
swept away by the swift current, and never seen more. 
Added* to these was the melancholy fact, too well known, 
that one or two persons had been unfortunately drowned, 
of late years, in the attempt to cross at the same place 
where the creek was too much swollen. 

But that which, more than all other circumstances, had 
contributed to give a bloody celebrity to this fatal spot, 



lOJ: MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

was one which had transpired only about two years pre- 
viously to the date of this legend, and therefore ten times 
more awful, apart from its horrid details, than all the rest 
put together. Everybody hereabouts will easily recollect 
the whole matter, and 1 only recount it here for the bene- 
fit of those readers who live at different places. 

Let it be known, then, that, at this place, in the spring 
of 183-, was inhumanly and savagely murdered an old 
traveller, who was supposed to be on his way to Colum- 
bus for the purpose of buying and entering government 
lands. He was riding calmly along, some hour after 
night, not dreaming of any danger, but whistling to make 
up for thought, when a savage assassin flew on him from 
the adjoining thicket, and mercilessly shot him through 
the heart. The old gentleman fell heavily from his horse, 
and the murderer, wresting and seizing the bridle in an 
instant, possessed himself of the traveler's saddle-bags, 
and then galloped furiously off on his own horse, which 
had been tied on the brow of the hill. All these facts 
w^ere given by two men who were riding down the slope 
on the opposite side ; but no one knew either of the par- 
ties, and after an inquest, which amounted, like most 
inquests, to just nothing at all, the murdered man was 
buried decently on the side of the road, where, for aught 
that I have heard to the contrary, he reposes quietly to 
this day. The assassin was not discovered and brought 
to justice until long years after, when, according to the 
old saying that " murder will out," the news reached 
Columbus that he had at last been identified, condemned, 
and executed in a distant State; for another crime, how- 
ever, than the one in question. But if the stories in vogue 
about Simstown are to be credited, the grave does not 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 105 

confine him very closely, and he is still allowed to wan- 
der to the scene of his most flagitious crime. It is there 
currently stated by an old black man that he returns and 
acts his murder over in the same way, and on the very 
same spot, every anniversary of the event. His story is 
that, as he was returning home one night, and just as 
he had got fairly within the shades of the swamp, he 
first heard the sound of a horse's hoof moving, as it 
seemed, to the time of a slow tune which the rider was 
whistling. Presently the flash of a pistol lighted up the 
scene, the rider dropped from his horse, a man rushed 
out and rifled him in a trice, and then, mounting a huge 
black horse, which stood a little way off, breathing fire 
and flames from his nostrils, both vanished in a whirlwind 
which happened to meet them just at the top of the hill. 
At the same time, a star fell and burst right before his 
eyes, and blinded him for several minutes ; after which, 
he could see nothing of the murdered man or his beast. 
As if it had been really intended to frighten him to death, 
he declares he also beheld two men on horseback, with 
plumes in their caps, and great crooked swords dangling 
at their sides, rearing and plunging through the air about 
the height that the creek usually rises to in high flood, 
whilst a great white figure darted up suddenly, with a 
shriek, out of the dark pool, and then fell back heavily 
again, as if pulled down with a dead weight. 

This wild story spread with the rapidity of lightning 
all around and through the neighborhood of Simstown, 
and caused many a bold lad and tom-boy girl to open 
wide their eyes with wonder, whilst the old people reve- 
rently shook their gray heads. It sank deep into the 
susceptible hearts of singing Randall and his old black 



106 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

companion, upsetting what sneaking doubts they may 
have ever entertained, and clothing with a terrible reality 
the fearful misgivings they had always cherished in con- 
nection with the blood-stained spot. They never passed 
the ford even in broad daylight, with the bright sun 
shining gayly on every side, without muttering a low 
prayer for protection against evil spirits, or casting a fur- 
tive, suspicious glance through the bushy clusters which 
lined the roadside. They also had made a solemn vow 
never to permit their mules, under any circumstances, to 
quench their thirst in the polluted waters of the gulf where 
the Indian fratricide, like another wicked Cain, had en- 
deavored to hide the evidence of his hell-deserving crime. 
If, accidentally, the wind made a whistle in passing through 
some crevice of the wagon body, their blood would begin 
to run cold for fear that it might be the old traveler's dying 
notes ; and if the branch of a tree happened to creak 
sharply as they passed, their blood would then fairly 
freeze in their veins as the idea suggested itself that it 
might be the clank of the swords belonging to the two 
unfortunate dragoons ; whilst for dread of seeing the spirit 
of the dead Indian, they would put whip to their beasts, 
and ascend the hill in the briskest sort of a trot. But it 
was when they were doomed to pass the fatal place after 
nightfall that their fears reached the crowning point. It 
was^t such hour that they dreaded most a conflict with 
Satan and his wild legions, especially too on ground 
abominable in the sight of every good Christian. At such 
times, they would join in raising a psalm some half a mile 
or so before coming in sight of the gloomy dell, in hopes 
thereby to get the spirit of grace fully up in time for the 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 107 

dreaded contest; and in this way they had thus far been 
enabled to pass through the swamp safely and sound. 

Few men, however, are permitted to slip quietly through 
life without encountering or provoking ill-will from some 
quarter or other ; and singing Randull, harmless and in- 
offensive as was his mode of getting along, had yet un- 
consciously raised up an enemy who at last fell upon an 
expedient which revenged him horribly and effectually. 
There lived at that time (not in Simstown, but) in the 
neighborhood, a roaring, rattle-brained, rumpussing cha- 
racter of a fellow — the very counterpart of Brom Bones 
— by the name of Bob Bagshot, whose greatest delight was, 
at the head of his gang, to keep the country, for miles 
around, in a constant stew for fear of his frolics or pranks, 
but who nevertheless managed to keep on the good side 
of everybody, and performed, in his sober moments, more 
acts of genuine charity and benevolence than any pious 
professor in the whole circuit of his wild domain. Among 
the women especially Bob was highly esteemed ; for woe 
to that hapless husband whose cruel or harsh treat- 
ment of his wife reached the ears of Bob Bagshot or any 
of his helter-skelter followers! He was sure, in such 
instances, to visit on the offender the most degrading 
punishment, and he might justly consider himself a most 
fortunate man who escaped a ride on the edge of a sharp 
rail, or a distressing ducking in some convenient goose- 
pond. At the same time, he was one of the kindest 
neighbors in the world, and never hesitated to help a 
friend out of any sort of difficulty. If one got deep in 
the grass when his crop was growing. Bob took his own 
hands and worked him out. Or, if the constable pounced 
down suddenly on another, and security would answer 



108 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

the purpose (Bob never kept any money, and had no use 
for it), the same ready hand was always by to write a 
responsible name. 

But Bob, raaugre all his innocent wildness, and sin- 
cere benevolence of character, had his failings (as who 
has not?); but they were emphatically failings of the 
heart, not of the head. Bob had a most luscious eye, 
and loved a tidy, bright-eyed wench better than all 
things else, although everybody knew that he was not 
a marrying man. If ever he staid all night at a farm- 
house (as he very often did), the good dame would hunt 
up her romps at bedtime, and lock them securely in their 
room, pretty much in the same way that an old hen gathers 
her young brood beneath her wings when a greedy rob- 
ber of a hawk is seen flying suspiciously overhead. But 
she must have been a sharp-witted woman who could out- 
general Bob at any game of this description ; for, after all, 
it was ten chances to one if he was not seen returning be- 
times the next morning from the cow-pen, in loving gos- 
sipry with the milkmaid, whose flushed cheeks, and 
ruddy lips, and sheepish glances of the eye carried sad 
convictions to the mother's heart, whilst the old farmer 
himself would dart a half scowl on the pair with a deep 
sigh, which told plainly enough that he suspected more 
than he chose to express. 

Bob was the head man at all the bran dances of the 
hamlet, and of the neighborhood around, was foremost 
in all the fishing and seining parties, and took the lead, 
by common consent, in every hunting expedition against 
deer and bear, or wolves and foxes. He could wind 
the clearest and fullest blast with a horn of any man in 
the country ; and of a fine frosty morning, ere yet the 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 109 

sun rose, one note from his well-known, mellow-toned 
horn was the signal for a general gathering among all 
the hardy lovers of sport for miles around. He had a 
signal note for each description of chase. If he was for 
a deer-scouring, one sharp, shrill, high-keyed blast was 
sufficient intimation for each man to seek out the stands, 
and everything went on as well as if they had met and 
planned the part of every one. If he was after wolf, 
the note was measured and prolonged, swelling louder 
and louder as it mingled with the morning breeze, de- 
noting that the chase was one which required vigilance 
and perseverance ; for this animal takes always a wide 
circuit, and is rarely brought to the death under four or 
five hours, and frequently seven or eight. If, again, he 
desired to jump a fox, the medley of peals fell in such 
rapid succession from the horn that the air was kept 
busy enough in transporting the sounds disconnectedly, 
whilst they infused double quick motion into all whom 
he had surprised in bed, and who threw on any clothes 
they could find or lay hands on, any sort of fashion, and 
sometimes in no fashion at all, especially if they wished 
to be present when the dogs first started in cover. But it 
was when black cuffy was the destined victim, that he 
showed his true and exquisite command over the tones 
of his horn. This time the blast was varied every se- 
cond, and in less than half a minute the whole gamut 
would be gone through with astonishing precision ; show- 
ing that cuffy had a great many ways, and was a sly 
old fellow, and that all who pursued him must keep 
every eye open. His hounds, too, understood and com- 
prehended the meaning of these different keys as well as 
the best huntsman ; and it was as much as any of their 
10 



110 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

skins were worth if a false scent was struck after his 
intentions had been thus professionally announced. 

Bob's musical accomplishno'ents did not stop here, 
and were by no means confined to his performances on 
the horn. He was given up to be the best fiddler in the 
whole country, and could turn ofT a reel in the merriest 
and prettiest time in the world, with the most graceful 
ease imaginable, and with a melody so exciting and in- 
spiring that the stiffest limbs \vould imbibe elasticity 
under the influence of his touches, whilst the active 
dancers were all the time betwixt the ceiling and the 
floor. For this reason, among others, he was always 
the most welcome and favored of visitors at the quilting 
frolics ; indeed, if by the time the last line was marked 
out, and the last fold of the quilt turned. Bob Bagshot 
had not arrived, nothing went right. The men were dull 
and sulky, the girls full of pouts and angry tosses. 
But the moment that his familiar footstep was heard on 
the door-sill of the cabin, presto ! — change! — begone, 
dull care ! — everything came right in a trice. The boys 
rallied, and dashed at the girls ; and the girls themselves 
fell to romping and shaking their petticoats with such 
enticing leers and mischievous ogles that Bob could do 
no less than kiss each one by turn all around the room. 
What wonder, then, that sagacious mothers, with all their 
partiality for the young man, should play shy with their 
ardent daughters when Bob Bagshot called to spend the 
night under their roof? 

Now it happened that Bob had become deeply smit- 
ten with the pretty face, the plump limbs, and ripe 
charms of Miss Charity Plainlove, and of late months 
was getting to be a very frequent guest at Frogmarsh, 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. Ill 

where he was a very great favorite. But it behoved 
him to play his game very cautiously here, for the jilain, 
honest-hearted old farmer was not the man, by any 
means, who would tamely tolerate any undue familiarity 
with his girls. I do not charge that Bob had conceived, 
or designed to perpetrate any scandalous impropriety in 
connection with Miss Charity, but he certainly was fired 
with her beauty and charms to a much greater extent 
than he ever had been before, and just as certainly en- 
tertained no sort of intention about marrying her. How- 
ever, he planned a great many fishing excursions, and 
muscadine hunts, and wild grape searches, in which he 
managed to have numerous agreeable tete-a-tetes with his 
fair innamorata, and set himself no little ahead in winning 
her good graces. Whilst this project was in full fervor, and 
waxing to a termination most delightful to Bob's yearn- 
ing wishes, it happened that our friend, singing Randall 
(unluckily for him, poor fellow), was at the same time 
employed in getting cypress shingles for Mr. Plainlove, 
and was sojourning in his house. Returning one even- 
ing rather late from his labors, and taking the path which 
led to the house by \vay of the spring, Tony, on passing 
close by a cluster of fragrant vines which formed a sort 
of bower on the side of the trail, was startled no little at 
hearing a quick, sharp smack of a noise something like 
the crack of a good keen-turned wagon whip. Ever on 
the alert for goblin pranks, Tony stopped to listen, and 
cast a fearful glance through the bushes, when he was 
relieved, but piously shocked, to see his employer's pretty 
daughter most amorously embraced by Mr. Bagshot, 
who, in Tony's opinion, was scarcely less to be dreaded 
than a real devil, any way. Charity's quick eye, how- 



-1J2 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

ever, had found him first, and she managed most dex- 
terously to push Bob from her, as though his familiarity 
had been distasteful. Charity was always a sly hussy! 

Now, whether Tony ever actually mentioned the cir- 
cumstance to Mr. Plainlove or not, I cannot exactly say; 
but certain it is that, on their return to the house, the 
manner of the old' gentleman was so altered, and he 
treated his late favored guest with such marked cool- 
ness, that Bob ordered his horse, and put right off for 
home that night, boiling over with rage, and burning 
with mortification. Never before had he met with a 
reverse so decided, and although he was ready at all 
times to face any description of foe, and defied the whole 
army of evil spirits and ghosts, yet Bob was not one who 
could rest with an easy conscience under the just dis- 
pleasure of an honest man. Sad and luckless discovery 
did that prove to poor Tony Randall, for Bob vowed and 
treasured deep vengeance, and Bob was a dangerous 
enemy when he had cause to be an enemy! The whole 
affair, however, blew smoothly over, and slumbered for 
months; and, in fact, had completely died away in the 
recollection of everybody save the victim of Tony's 
pious tattling, and one or two of his " clansmen true." 
Of these, the most prominent were Derry Dropper, com- 
monly called Handy-Dandy, from his fine looks, and 
expert dashing ways, and Dick Bumbleby, a sly old dog 
of a roister, always ready for a spree where fun was the 
stake, and never known to desert his post over a noggin 
of apple toddy, or a bowl of whisky grog. These two 
were perfect antipodes in disposition, manner, and tem- 
perament. 

Handy-Dandy, as his nickname imported, was active. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 113 

open-hearted, and free-handed in everything he did, 
and was scarcely less accomplished than Bob Bagshot 
himself in all that has been ascribed to that worthy 
hero; and when it came to shooting, Derry asked his 
leader no odds. His aim was more deadly than that of 
Boone, or Davy Crockett, for he had often been known 
to drop a buck dead in his tracks before he could make 
a bound, then, wheeling most alertly in his saddle, bring 
down the doe who had sprung off in the opposite di- 
rection, before she had got fairly out of pistol range. 
Richard, or Dick Bumbleby, on the contrary, was a 
clumsy, dozy-looking, inscrutable old blade, with no- 
thing active about him but his brain, which was known to 
be so inventive in all matters of mischief that the neigh- 
bors used to dub him by the unconsecrated cognomen 
of Old Hellcat, which probably had been first sug- 
gested as much from the middle letter of his name as 
from his supposed satanic connections. Poor Dick! thy 
roistering days are long since over! But the wild lovers 
of good cheer never had a more faithful, long-headed 
ally than thou wert in the fine old days of thy prime ! 
and well had it been if no worse man had ever breathed 
the air of this vexatious planet of ours! 

If ever these three were detected in secret session, or 
joining heads on any scheme of rumpusing, the honest 
people of Simstown and the neighborhood were sure to 
suspect that mischief was brewing, and looked out sharply 
for squalls during the night. The poultry roosts were 
doubly sentineled, the bee-hives were strongly barricaded, 
the stable-doors carefully barred and locked, the yard and 
garden gates well pinned and clamped, and every watch- 
dog in the hamlet unchained. If an old rusty firelock 

10* 



114 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

could be mustered by hook or by crook, it was thought 
best to load it with powder and peas, so that a harmless 
demonstration of fight might be made in case of assault 
on the girls' quarters. Woe to the gig or wagon, or any 
species of vehicle, which had been left unprotected on 
these nights of terror! The owner was always forced to 
drag the Buttahalchie for days afterwards, and he was 
lucky then if he was enabled to fish up the wheels of his 
vehicle in a whole state. But the favorite diversion was 
to catch up old stray horses, turned out to grass for the 
balance of life, and, tying wads of flaming turpentine to 
their stumps of tails, start the afTrighted animals, charg- 
ing and tearing, through the plantations and along the 
roads, neighing and snorting at such hideous rates as to 
make many a credulous and startled soul jump nimbly 
up, for fear that judgment day had come at last. 

I think now that the sensible reader will agree with me 
that singing Randall was under goblin influence, or at 
least had jumped into bad business, the day and hour in 
which it fell to his lot to arouse the spleen of the Cory- 
phaeus of a band such as I have endeavored to describe; 
and to this worthy gentleman and his adventures it is 
now high time I should return. 

Winter was now passed away, and spring succeeded, 
and one fine night a proposal was made by a sagacious 
old Simstown farmer that several should join in slaugh- 
tering a few fat young beeves for the purpose of sending 
them to the town market, where beef always commanded 
the finest prices. As it was a busy time in the crops, 
Tony Randall, as usual, was selected to conduct the 
transportation, negotiate the sale, and account on his re- 
turn for each man's net profits. So day had scarcely 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 115 

dawned on the following morn, when, nicely fitted off 
with a strong, light two-horse wagon, with the ghastly 
and reeking remains of yesternight's slaughter snugly 
stowed and packed, Tony mounted the lead mule, whip 
in hand, and started off at a merry round trot. On the 
brow of the hill just beyond the hamlet, be stopped a mo- 
ment for his chosen companion and Christian brother ; 
and Uncle Ned, already equipped for the journey, hobbled 
to his accustomed place in the wagon. As the day had 
been delightfully cool and pleasant, and no accident oc- 
curred to delay them on the road, the two travelers de- 
scried, long ere the noontide hour, the shining domes and 
lofty spires of the city, looming gorgeously in the broad 
sunlight; and being cheered up considerably by the beau- 
tiful sight, they quickened pace, and soon drove up and 
halted in the shade of the market-house on Main Street. 
Here, according to custom, Uncle Ned was left to mind 
the mules and beef, whilst Tony hurried off to find buy- 
ers for his produce. This was not so easily done at that 
hour of the day, and, despite the most vigorous efforts he 
could make, it was many hours past noon before he dis- 
posed of the last quarter of beef. He had now to trade 
off a bag or two of dried-apples belonging to some thrifty 
farmer's wife ; get rid of several bundles of otter and buck 
hides which had been entrusted to him by a neighbor; 
besides making divers purchases of calicoes, and cotton 
head handkerchiefs, and a jug or two of mellow old Mo- 
nongahela for the farmers themselves — who all adhered 
to the fine ancient custom of taking a glass of grog when 
they liked, or when a friend called to see them. By the 
time all the errands were run, and orders filled, and 
mules geared and hitched up, and everything ready to 



116 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

start back, Tony and his companion beheld with quaking 
hearts that the sun was scarcely more than an hour high, 
whilst Black Creek was to be crossed at the distance of 
full seven miles from town, with a deep, sandy road for the 
most of the way at that. Nothing was left, however, but 
to make the best of it they could, for, as to remaining all 
night in town, at a heavy expense of man and beast, 
without at least a better apology than it was in Tony's 
power to offer, was altogether out of the question. They 
started, therefore, with heavy forebodings of evil, for, by 
the most hapless coincidence in the world, they had now 
found to their dismay that it was the awful anniversary 
of the old traveler's tragical fate. Had this been known 
before they left Simstown, it is more than probable that 
no reward could have induced either to undertake the 
journey on that day. 

They had now hardly gone a mile beyond the environs 
of the city, struggling manfully to hasten through the 
deep sand which so inopportunely clogged and impeded 
their gait at this most trying and anxious moment, when 
a w^hippowil, all of a sudden, began to trill forth his 
gloomy and mournful notes, bringing increased sadness 
to their troubled bosoms, and most provokingly and re- 
markably, as they thought, following them for a mile or 
so further on their journey. Such a sign was considered 
almost fatal by old Ned, and he began seriously to mis- 
give already. The sun was now beginning to dip, and 
despite the most vigorous pace to which they could urge 
the mules, it entirely disappeared before they completed 
the first five miles ; and as evening deepened, and twi- 
light, with its murky glimmerings, shrouded the objects 
ahead, the shadows of the trees already seem.ed, to their 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 117 

excited visions, like so many hnge skeletons waving their 
arms about and around in the obscurity. 

At length, to their terror and agony of heart, darkness 
overtook them whilst yet a mile from the dreaded spot. 
The moon had not yet risen ; and the stars, unveiled in 
all their beauty and resplendence, alone shed their mild 
and subdued lustre over the scene. But the beauty and 
calmness of the night had now no charms for these trou- 
bled brethren, for Tony had more than once already sug- 
gested to his more aged and dull-sighted companion that 
the stars were entirely too restless above, and shifted their 
places much too often to bode any good. Uncle Ned 
tremulously allowed that this was another most evil omen, 
and begged Tony to unite with him in a fervent prayer 
that the Almighty would not forget his servants in the 
hour of trouble, but would shield and defend them in 
any unsanctified conflict which Satan might then be plan- 
ning against them. Accordingly, the old fellow proceed- 
ed to offer up a most eloquent petition, workinghimself up, 
as he progressed, to a full pitch of fervency, whilst Tony 
would occasionally scotch him with an earnest and dolo- 
rous amen. Scarcely was the prayer brought to a close 
when Tony opened loudly with one of his most melodi- 
ous psalms, as if thus to keep up the flow of divine ardor 
with which they were, by this time, plentifully warmed ; 
and his fine strong voice, accompanied by the old negro's 
bass, echoed delightfully through the woods which bor- 
dered the wnde common on which they had now en- 
tered. The night was so calm and still that the lusty 
notes of the singers were distinctly heard at the farm- 
houses a mile or so distant from the road ; and many, 
since the dire and melancholy catastrophe, have vividly 



118 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

recalled, and detailed to wondering auditors, the mournfal 
impressions made on them while listening to the solemn 
dirge. 

It was now grown quite dark, and at length, with 
trembling anxiety, the hapless brothers reached the 
brow of the gentle hill which overlooked the gloomy 
recess of the ford, and which now did indeed appear to 
them as the entrance into the " Valley of the Shadow of 
Death." The last habitable house had been passed 
more than a mile back ; it was at least as far to the first 
one beyond, and no living creatures but themselves were 
in sight, or near enough to aid them if accident should 
indeed befall. Under these circumstances, the pious 
souls thought it not irreverent to assist the warmth of 
divine grace by a swill of the old Monongahela which 
they had along, and they accordingly shook hands, and 
took several hearty swallows a-piece. A happy thought 
now occurred to singing Randall, which was to put the 
mules under a full career of headway down the hill, and, 
with the momentum thus gained, whip through the vale 
under a full volley of psalmody, storm vigorously the 
opposite hill, and gain the open space beyond at top 
speed. 

The first act of this ingenious programme was finely 
executed ; but, just as they got into the valley, and scented 
the fragrant waters of the creek rippling gently over the 
pebbly channel, the mules, as if suddenly possessed of a 
devil, plunged madly and uncontrollably, to their very 
bellies, in the dark gulf on the left side, and began to 
quench the thirst which the hot weather and active travel 
had so naturally produced. To increase the terrors in- 
spired by this luckless prank, a large, deep-mouthed 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 119 

owl greeted their entrance into the bloody pool, with a 
shriek of such startling energy as fairly to raise erect 
every hair on their heads. But now, whilst everything 
around was hushed into listening silence, their ears were 
appalled with a sound which struck a cold chill to their 
hearts, and made them awfully sensible of the ghostly 
associations of the time and place. A dull, clanging 
noise, something like the shock of metal, came from 
amongst the willow thickets on their right, and old Ned 
sank, shaking, into the bottom of the wagon as the idea 
of the drowned soldiers crossed his mind ; whilst Tony 
made several husky, gurgling attempts to raise a hymn, 
in hopes thus to allay his restless spirits. But no mortal 
pen can paint the agony which seized them, when the 
night breeze bore to their ears the sound of a low, 
tremulous whistle from the slope of the hill, and, pre- 
sently afterwards, the footfall of a horse striking on the 
hard ground. Tony recognized the signal, and his knees 
struck against the sides of his mule at a fearful rate, and 
his teeth chattered as though he had been seized with 
tertian ague ; whilst old Ned, equally anticipating what 
was to come, lay sweating and groaning under piles of 
straw and drygood bundles. Their fears were indeed 
well grounded, for Tony presently descried the dim out- 
lines of what seemed to be the figure of a stout and 
portly horseman, riding calmly and slowly down the hill, 
and he instantly knew it for the apparition of the mur- 
dered traveler. The cold damps gathered on his fore- 
head as the spirit approached. A vague hope, however, 
struck him that it might, at last, be only a living person, 
benighted like himself, and he made a hoarse effort to 
draw up voice enough to venture on a hail ; but, at that 



120 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

moment, he was jarred through and through by the loud 
report of a pistol, and the air was immediately scented 
with a strong and sickening odor of brimstone. The 
blood curdled in Tony's veins, and his muscles became 
perfectly rigid from fright ; he was like a petrified man 
for the rest of the time, endowed only with the sense of 
sight. True to the legend in every particular, the tra- 
veler fell heavily and clumsily from the saddle, with a 
deep, sonorous groan ; a dark figure rushed out from the 
thicket, rifled the pockets of the fallen man, and then, 
mounting a huge black steed, which Tony then saw rise 
apparently from out of the earth, his whole neck and head 
in one solid flame, vanish in an instant on the top of the 
hill, according to the story. Tony now surrendered him- 
self, soul and body, to the mercy of Satan. As for old 
Ned, the fire of the pistol had jarred all hearing and feel- 
ing out of him, and he lay in a fit of fortunate insensi- 
bility. But the horrid drama was not yet concluded ; 
the noise of the explosion, or the familiar fumes of the 
brimstone, seemed to have evoked the ghosts of others 
who had yielded up their lives on the fatal spot. The 
air resounded with dismal wailings. Blazing fireballs 
whizzed threateningly around and about. Two spectral 
figures, with plumes and dragoon swords, were seen 
curveting on lank, bony horses, through the openings of 
willow branches, whilst a heavy body fell, as if from an 
impending limb, with a loud plash in the deep pool ; and 
then the fireballs exploded simultaneously with a deaf- 
ening roar, leaving all in total darkness. 

Up to this time the gentle mules, thirsted almost to 
death, had stood with provoking calmness amidst the 
whole goblin array; but this last scene had been too 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 121 

much even for their hardy nerves, and they plunged for- 
ward, blowing and snorting most furiously, with a dead 
aim for the direction home. About half way up the hill, 
the stupefied Tony lost his balance, and, to his agony and 
dismay, was hurled violently from his seat, and left alone 
and unaided to make his way through the ghostly foes 
that encompassed him. Yet, even in that awful moment, 
did the honest-hearted creature find time to experience 
one passing regret for the fate of his insensible old com- 
rade, and to lament the probable loss of his employers' 
money and goods. * * * 

The night passed and morning came, and the sun, 
rising in cloudless lustre, lighted with his glorious and 
cheering rays the scene of goblin revelry. But the 
return of his friendly and welcome light had been far too 
long delayed to bring another happy morrow to the unfor- 
tunate Tony. No visible traces of his fate were to be 
found, and singing Randall has never been since seen in 
Simstown or Columbus. 

But, at an early hour of the day succeeding, an old 
planter in the neighborhood came suddenly upon a wagon 
which rested partly on a huge stump, with the tongue 
and hounds broken to pieces, and no sign of gear or 
horses in sight.. On looking in, he observed an aged 
negro seemingly in a deep sleep, and detected a strong, 
fragrant smell of fine old Monongahela. He then saw 
a suspicious-looking jug, with the stopper out, and on 
shaking it discovered that it was scarcely more than half 
full of liquor. This, as he vainly imagined, unfolded 
the whole secret, and he applied several vigorous kicks 
to the old sleeper's l^awny sides; and then he first 
found that it was the old patriarch Ned. He sent him 

n 



122 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

carefully home under the guidance of a trusty boy of his 
own, where, after accounting for and paying over all 
the money found in the coat of his missing brother, old 
Ned boldly told his story, and expressed his fears with 
weeping eyes for the fate of poor singing Randall. But 
the appearance of the jug, and the absence of the whisky, 
were against the worthy patriarch, and his master, wisely 
concluding that one drink very naturally led to more, 
discarded the faithful old servant from his confidence. 
But the patriarch's misfortunes ended not even with this. 
He was taken up by the church, and his story being 
cruelly discredited, old Ned was left hereafter to "serve 
God on his own hook" (as the Simstowh lads irreverently 
expressed it), without even the faintest hope of ever be- 
ing restored. 

At length, a year or so afterward, a Methodist presid- 
ing elder, well known for his piety and Christian zeal 
(though he was also fond both of telling and enjoying a 
good joke in his way), happening to stay all night at 
Simstown, reported, with sundry grim smiles and grave 
contortions of the face, that he had actually seen " Brother 
Randall" at a camp-meeting on the far-off pine barrens 
of Fayette; that he still bore an excellent character; and 
that at last, with great reluctance, he had told him the 
marvelous cause of his mysterious disappearance, which 
tallied exactly with the story of old Ned. This same 
reverend and ingenious gentleman also visited Columbus 
shortly afterwards, and, witnessing the parade of a certain 
fine horse company, recollected that several of the wild 
Simstown boys were members of the corps, and was 
observed to shake his head most jocosely several times. 
It was observed, too, by a few sagacious persons, that. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 123 

whenever these conjectures of the good parson's were 
mentioned in the presence of the suspected trio, Bob 
smuggled his usually merry face into an expression of the 
most ludicrous gravity; Derry always began to whistle, 
or blow his horn if on horseback; whilst Dick Bumbleby 
would unconsciously dilate his mischievous, sleepy-look- 
ing little blue eyes, and at last contort the muscles of 
his mouth into a sort of half-roguish smile. 

It is not for me to inquire further into the particulars 
of this legend; but my readers may, perhaps, have been 
sufficiently interested to find some pleasure in being told 
that the good parson, after measuring all these circum- 
stances, after making a few more inquiries in the neigh- 
borhood, and comparing all with the story of old Ned and 
Tony Randall, succeeded in restoring the former to all 
his church privileges ; whilst the latter still lives to enjoy a 
camp-meeting festival, although nothing has ever induced 
him of late years to remain out of doors later than sun- 
set. 



124 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 



CHAPTER IX. 

INKLING OF AN ADVENTURE WITH " OLD SOL." 

I THINK the assertion may be very safely hazarded 
that few characters in these United States are so univer- 
sally and affectionately known as the distinguished South- 
ern comedian, Sol. Smith, Esq., far oftener called by his 
noted sobriquet of "Old Sol." Everybody likes him; 
and I have not learned from any source that he ever 
made an enemy in the whole course of his active life. In- 
deed, I believe he has met with extraordinarily fine luck 
in one particular, at least, for a professional man, which 
is that he has never excited the splenetic jealousy of 
histrionic compeers, although few actors have elicited 
such wide-spread admiration, or received such pleasing 
and substantial evidences of success. His theatrical 
career, since his reputation was established, has been a 
career of applause and popularity, and the side scenes of 
his life have given rise to more amusing anecdotes and 
really laughable incidents than any which have been 
concocted even in connection with Davy Crockett him- 
self, that most original of all our American characters. 
His amiability and benevolence are proverbial ; and his 
kindness and patronage to young aspirants to histrionic 
eminence are so generally known, that I believe it may 
be said " Old Sol" has been the means of calling into 
life more dramatic talent than any or all of his cotempo- 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 125 

raries ; whilst his energy and enterprise in catering to 
the public amusement have long since entered his name 
on the note-book of the historian. Many, even, who do 
not know him personally (and I am one of the number) 
can recall some of the most agreeable associations of 
their lives in connection with his name, and I doubt 
not that he has warm friends and sincere admirers 
whom he has never seen. The peasant and the states- 
man, the votary of fashion and the humble mechanic, 
the moralist and the gamester, the pious and the wicked, 
the nabob and the beggar, are alike attached to some 
pleasant reminiscence of which "Old Sol" was the hero. 
His- droll humor and inimitable acting have brightened 
a passing hour with many a victim of ruin and distress, 
and beguiled the tedium and ennui of many a listless 
voluptuary. He has often called back life and lustre to 
the fading eye of tremulous old age, and made the blood 
run warm again through withered veins as some emo- 
tion of delight thrilled the feeble frame. The young have 
felt more intensely the pleasures of hope and of the fu- 
ture, as some comic expression or grotesque contortion 
of the popular actor would cheat them into fits of wel- 
come laughter, and drive away the melancholy of, per- 
haps, a first reverse. In fact, "Old Sol" holds a snug 
little corner in the heart of every one who has ever had 
the good luck to see him under full headway in the per- 
formance of some favorite and apposite comedy. 

Now, although the distinguished comedian may chance 
to have as little real connection as anybody else with 
the following sketch, I have thought this short pre- 
face necessary to a full understanding by the reader of 
its point and incident. Indeed, it cannot be realized 

11* 



126 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

at all unless one calls to mind the features and person 
of the old aclor, and all the leading characteristics which 
have rendered his name famous apart from his profes- 
sional celebrity. And if he shall be in the land of the 
living (as I sincerely and honestly trust he may be) 
when this composition reaches the public, I hope I shall 
have his pardon for the unauthorized introduction of his 
familiar and respected name. 

It happened to me, then, several years ago, to be a pas- 
senger on board the elegant packet steamer Oregon, on 
her trip from Mobile to New Orleans, across the lovely 
Lakes of Boro^ne and blue-bosomed Pontchartrain. The 
boat was thronged with passengers of both sexes, but 
among all of them I discovered that I had not, for a 
wonder, a solitary acquaintance. As we were about to 
visit waters and scenes, however, which were always 
peculiarly alive with pleasant interest to me, I did not 
very greatly regret this fact, although I have as much 
quiet sociability in my nature as most people, and like 
to see a familiar face in a strange place as well as others. 

On opening the register, to enter my name in time to 
secure an agreeable berth, I was surprised and rather 
delighted to observe, in neat, plain characters, the auto- 
graph (as I suppose it must have been) of the veritable 
" Old Sol" himself, enrolled as a volunteer passenger 
during our short cruise from Mobile to the Crescent City. 
Having taken care in this quarter for my comfort, I ap- 
proached the gentlemen's saloon, in the main cabin, 
where I found most of the passengers already congre- 
gated. I took my seat in their midst, and looked cau- 
tiously around to find if I could detect in any one present 
the features and person of the celebrated actor, although 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 127 

I questioned much my chances of success, especially as 
I had never seen Mr. Smith anywhere but on the stage. 
I was soon at fault, however, and ascertained, to my per- 
fect satisfaction, that none in the saloon answered either to 
the various descriptions I had seen of " Old Sol's" man- 
ner and appearance in the social circle, or to my own vivid 
conjectures as to his every-day looks. Apart from the 
rest of the company, but rather nearer to the seat I had 
chosen, was a group of easy, well-dressed, mirthful com- 
panions, evidently intimate acquaintances, all arrayed 
around a small table, on which two or three were negli- 
geritly resting their legs, at the same time that their 
bodies were snugly ensconced between the arms of the 
huge-cushioned chairs in which they so leisurely reclined. 
It was easy to perceive, at a single glance, that these 
were traveled gentlemen, whose familiarity with the 
world sustained them under all circumstances, and in 
any place, and had given them that enviable neglige 
and nonchalance which carry one so admirably and self- 
possessed through all trying situations, from the glitter- 
ing parlor of a fashionable hotel to the social hall of a 
river steamboat or country tavern. 

Prominent among the assemblage was a flashy, pert, 
talkative young gentleman, the very prototype of a genu- 
ine Broadway exquisite, of tall and rather handsome 
proportions, whose legs were gracefully crossed over a 
corner of the table, with his smooth, glossy hat half 
cocked on th^ side of his head, and his ivory-mounted 
cane playing alternately between his teeth and the toes 
of his shining boots. A pair of fierce, red whiskers 
curled over his cheeks, whilst his flowing beard would 
have shamed a dervise or a mullah. He was evidently 



128 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

the leading personage of the set, for a short, chubby- 
faced, hawk-nosed gentleman at his side made a point 
of laughing always when he laughed or winked his eye 
knowingly ; whilst a humorous-looking, sagacious-eyed, 
fat old fellow in his front, and a fidgety, grinning little 
Frenchman just in the rear, followed suit in all that was 
said or done by the hawk-nosed man. It seemed as if 
the likelihood of having " Old Sol" as a fellow-passenger 
had created considerable sensation in their little circle, 
as well as with me, for they were in a high conversa- 
tional glee at some pretty tart and mirth-provoking criti- 
cism which the hero of the red whiskers had just uttered 
in connection with the appearance and traits of the 
Southern comedian. The thought occurred to me that 
they were playing rather a hazardous game, as the hour 
was now at hand when it was fair to presume that all 
who intended to go over were on board, and the 
worthy object of their wit and mirth himself, per- 
haps, quietly stowed away in some part of the cabin. 
The same idea struck the old fellow of the merry face, 
for he stopped long enough in his laugh to suggest that, 
as none of them knew the comedian by sight, it would be 
best to carry on their strictures in rather a lower tone. 
The words of caution had scarcely fallen from his lips 
when the curtains of a neighboring berth were softly 
pulled aside, the face of a middle-aged man peered sud- 
denly out, and was turned towards the group with such 
a quizzical expression of dry, quiet humor that the laugh- 
ers shrank covveringly aback, as though they had raised 
a ghost; whilst I, who had seen " Old Sol" only a night 
or two before, in his famous character of Dominie Samp- 
son, could almost have sworn that I beheld the same 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 129 

facetious twitches of the mouth, the same roguish leer 
that had then convulsed the whole theatre, when, met 
suddenly by Meg Merrilies at break of day on his soli- 
tary visit to' the Kairn of Derncleugh, the counterpart of 
Scott's inimitable character, drawled out, with quaking 
accent, "prodigious!!" The "whiskered Pandoor" 
smirked, ejected a flake of dry, white spittle, hung his 
head with a sheepish, roguish glance of the eye at his 
companions, who all turned about like a parcel of idle 
boys suddenly caught by the schoolmaster at some mis- 
chievous prank. But they were not held long in this 
tortuous duresse, for the old gentleman of the quizzical 
face had only raised up, apparently, to ask of a passing 
servant if t!ie hour for starting was come, and then drop- 
ped quietly back in his berth. I had heard and read 
enough of " Old Sol's" eccentricity and good-humored 
self-possession to know that this was precisely his mode 
of warfare under all like circumstances, and, despite my 
exertions to maintain a proper degree of gravity, could 
not forbear betraying my inward convulsions of amuse- 
ment at the ludicrous scene by open, but subdued, 
laughter. 

Scarcely had the apparition disappeared when the 
conclave regained their wonted ease of manner, and I 
was eagerly questioned by the hawk-nosed fellow, in an 
under tone, whether I could tell them if it really was "Old 
Sol," I politely declared my ignorance of the manager's 
person, and, of course, could give them no satisfaction. 
The servant to whom the mysterious tenant of the berth 
had spoken was then softly called up and questioned in 
like manner. He had never seen Mr. Smith in his life, 
except at the theatre, did not know him from any other 



130 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

old gentleman, and had no idea of his identity with the 
inmate of No. 18. In the midst of these perplexing won- 
ders and surmises, the last stroke sounded, and the boat 
was soon gliding swiftly through the water. The passes 
and bars were safely cleared, dinner was served, and we 
sat down to a most sumptuous and luxurious repast. The 
tenant of No. 18 must have been a sleepy-headed, lazy 
old fellow^ with wonderful control over his appetite, for 
he did not make his appearance at table, although the 
savory steam from the numerous tempting dishes laid 
before us must have penetrated the curtains of his berth, 
and inflamed his olfactories no little, if he was not entire- 
ly innocuous to all assaults of the kind. After having 
watched in vain for his appearance, I left my seat among 
the first, desirous to gain the deck and witness the open- 
ing beauties of those scenes which always draw forth my 
admiration. The wide expanse of Mobile Bay was spread 
out before and around ; its limpid waters glistening with 
the rich cerulean hues of approaching evening, and its 
broad bosom reposing in the lovely calm of midsummer 
night. The sight was beautiful beyond description to 
one whose eyes rested the whole year round on woods, and 
fields, and land prospects ; and such were the stillness 
and pleasant temperature of the evening, that I almost 
forgot hoar winter was in its solstice. Away to the right 
could be seen the red cliffs of the opposite shore, whilst 
immediately in front the eye was caught with an immense 
array of masts and spars as the distant ships rose up on 
the horizon, presenting the appearance of a large forest 
of decayed and leafless trees. Numerous sail craft, as 
cutters, schooners, and brigs, were strung out on the 
broad pathway, laden with the staple commodity of the 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 131 

city, which they were bearing to the larger-sized vessels 
anchored in the bay. During some hours past, the white 
shores of Dauphin Island had been in sight, and now, as 
night approached, we skirted along its coast, and found 
that our captain designed, in consequence of the low 
state of water in the lakes, to take the outside passage. 
As twilight deepened into the shadows of night, the ladies 
appeared on the after-deck, and in a few moments we 
plunged into the blue waters of the gulf. I stood alone 
by a large brace, and indulged a train of fanciful classic 
visions. I thought of the beautiful stories of ancient my- 
thology, of Ovid, of Hesiod, and of Homer, and wished al- 
most to see the lady Amphitrite in her chariot of coral drawn 
by sea-horses, and guarded by Nereides and Tritons, as 
they had loved to picture her, rising from her submarine 
abode to welcome the fair daughters of earth to her ocean 
domains. But all these and kindred vagaries were at 
once dispelled by the ringing of the supper bell, and I 
went below to forget the classics, in hope of catching 
a glimpse of "Old Sol," if, indeed, he was on board. 

Again, however, did the unknown tenant of No. 18 
fail to make his appearance, though I discovered more 
eyes than mine scanning both sides of the table in hopes 
to detect and identify his quizzical physiognomy. How 
did he manage to fast so long ! His features bore no trace 
of disease, for the very slight glimpse of them which 
had been caught satisfied us that he was ruddy and 
healthful-looking, and, therefore, he was no invalid ! 
Probably it was not " Old Sol" after all ! But I began to 
suspect, very strongly, that, if the tenant of No. 18 was 
indeed the eccentric old manager, he was meditating 
some amusing, but mischievous freak by which to see 



132 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

fun, in his own way, with these exquisite and ingenious 
critics. 

After tea, I took the liberty of sauntering into the prin- 
cipal saloon, and seated myself on one of the magnifi- 
cent sofas which line its whole circumference. The 
whiskered young gentleman and his three subordinates 
had preceded me, for, when I entered,! found all four of 
them seated at a table, arranging to play some game of 
cards with the ladies of their set. The hawk-nosed fel- 
low was now describing, with ludicrous gestures, and in 
loud, jovial tones, the adventures of the day, and, think- 
ing that No., 18 was still securely lolling in his berth, 
produced a general laugh at the expense of the whiskered 
hero. He was just in the act of imitating, by a most 
contorted expression of countenance and ridiculous cari- 
cature, the confusion of his friend as the face of No. 18 
was suddenly thrust forth, when, Monsieur Tonson-like, 
the door of the state-room next adjoining was heard to 
open softly, and a tall, quiet-looking old gentleman, with 
the identical head and face of No. 18 affixed to his shoul- 
ders, with the same humorous and grotesque visage, walk- 
ed suddenly out, and, casting a roguish, inimitable sort 
of leer at the astonished group, passed on through the 
saloon back again into the gentlemen's cabin. So un- 
expected was this second apparition, so totally astound- 
ing was it to the whole company, that the hawk-nosed 
fellow still remained in his affected position, as though 
spell-bound ; the hero of the whiskers gaped instead of 
laughing; the little Frenchman drew up his shoulders 
with a wry shrug ; the fat man snapped his jaws sud- 
denly together like the closing of a rat-trap; and the 
ladies, mischief-loving wenches always, hid their pretty 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 133 

faces in their handkerchiefs, and indulged a silent but 
uncontrollable mirth. In this condition of confusion and 
surprise, I left them, more deeply amused than I can pos- 
sibly describe, and walked towards the clerk's office. 
This last stroke of seeming humorous revenge was like 
"Old Sol" to the very life, and I began seriously to 
believe that I had at last seen his embodiment, and in 
full character at that. It now appeared that No. 18, 
whoever he was, had a lady or ladies also aboard, and 
that he possessed at least a species of ubiquity which ren- 
dered it hazardous to talk of him anywhere on the boat. 

I had not reached my destination, however, when the 
whole four of them rushed past, and made direct for the 
same place, declaring audibly that they would find out 
either from the clerk or from the register whether the 
tenant of No. 18 was "Old Sol" or not. The window 
was down, and the office closed for the night, and the 
register had also been taken away and secured for the 
rest of the trip. This was perplexing enough, and one 
of the number proposed to seek out the captain, and as- 
certain from him. But the captain, another happened 
to know, was strictly a business man, rather gruff when 
on duty, and this suggestion was abandoned. All the 
servants, however, were beat up and mustered, but all 
declared their inability to satisfy any inquiry relative to 
the identity of the mysterious personage. 

A second proposition was made that all should adjourn 
to the bar, and take a bottle of wine in remembrance of 
their surprises and perplexities. They very politely in- 
sisted that I should accompany them, and, having no 
apology at hand, I felt obliged to comply. Whilst the 
cork was being drawn, niv friend of the red whiskers 
12 



134 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

turned the conversation on what had transpired, declar- 
ing, with an oath, "that he would ask the old scoundrel 
on sight who the deuce he was, just for curiosity." The 
glasses had just then been filled, and all were prepar- 
ing to quaff the foaming and sparkling contents, when 
once again, and more inopportunely than ever, old No, 18 
advanced from a dark, shadowy recess near the engine 
room, and, casting the same characteristic leer at the 
staring crowd, walked out towards the bow of the boat. 
The gaseous bubbles evaporated, and the dazzling scin- 
tillations died away — and not a glass touched the lips of 
him who held it until the last echo of footsteps was lost 
in the roar of the steampipe ; and even then the beauti- 
ful wine was drunk with a very cold welcome. So far 
from asking after the information he had just threatened 
so fiercely, my friend of the red whiskers was the last 
to recover his surprise on the present occasion ; and even 
when the others had again pumped up enough self-pos- 
session to indulge another laugh at these singular recur- 
rences, their leader joined in with a very sardonic ex- 
pression. This last most ludicrous exploit closed the 
series of adventures with " Old Sol," or his eidolon, for 
the balance of the night; and I may here say that, if 
No. 18 was in truth the same as this distinguished and 
eccentric Southern Manager, there never has been a time 
in his whole successful comic career when his fame as 
a humorist had risen so high in the estimation, at least, 
of the whiskered gentleman and his associates, whoever 
they were, which I am not able to tell. 

We were now fairly launched into the swelling bosom 
of the Mexican Gulf, and the slight rolling of the steam- 
er, now and then, had already produced its nauseating 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 135 

effects on some of the passengers. I was again seated 
alone near my old roost by the brace on deck, en- 
deavoring to force my vision through the dim obscurity 
of the ocean waste, and watching the myriads of the 
celestial host as they burst upon the sight one after an- 
other, like the gliding figures of a vast camera, only far 
more dazzling. The moon was not yet risen, and I was 
waiting anxiously to catch the first glimpse of its rosy 
lustre when emerging from beyond the watery horizon. 
A long, golden-hued streak, flashing forth numerous 
sparkling beams, heralded the majestic approach, then 
widening gradually into a broad and blazing sheet, and 
shading its first yellow tinges by a deep glow of crimson 
glory, the lustrous crescent peeped above the illumined 
waters, and in a moment afterwards the whole sea glis- 
tened with its full-orbed silver light. How dull and life- 
less do the puny efforts of men, with all their boasted 
art and skill, appear before a picture thus gorgeously 
.sketched by nature's hand ! 

In a few hours more, we were safely inside of Cat 
Island, and speeding forward to the Rigolets ; and (owing 
to a slight accident off one of the islands) did not come 
in sight of Fort Pike until broad day, which is generally 
passed before midnight. Without approaching at all to 
the grand or magnificent, this is decidedly one of the 
prettiest places in the United States. Its lovely lawns 
of blue grass, and its neat, smiling yellow cottages rise 
like an oasis to the eye, and relieve most agreeably the 
waste of dreary waters and glowing fens around. We 
passed its frowning cannon just as the sun rose, and 
heard the morning gun, and beheld the " star-spangled 
banner" as it was run up to meet the earliest rays. 



136 MISSISSIPPI SCENES, 

Just as the bell rang for breakfast, the bow of our ele- 
gant vessel skimmed the margin of Pontchartrain, and I 
turned away from the lovely prospect lingeringly and 
reluctantly. When I gained the cabin, I found the 
gentleman of the red whiskers and his satellites busily 
engaged in despatching their morning meal. Again did 
I scan the row of eager eaters for the now familiar visage 
of No. 18. He was not to be found, and I took my seat 
among the rest, fearing we had seen the last of this un- 
known personage. The clerk, engaged with his books, 
did not take his accustomed seat at the table, and the 
register was still in his possession. The four unfortu- 
nate gentlemen looked really disappointed as these last 
chances of finding out the identity of No. 18 with "Old 
Sol" melted away; and when, just after breakfast, they 
had congregated in front of the wash-room to smoke their 
cigars, and were venting their disappointment aloud, I 
reached the door just in time to see the sly, quizzical old 
rogue stalk out from his ablutions and pass through their 
midst with a smile which told plainly enough how much 
he was enjoying their fourth surprise and confusion. A 
serious consultation was now held. The fat man sug- 
gested that, if No. 18 really was " Old Sol," and, in that 
event, if " Old Sol" had not lost much of his love for 
comi& mischief, he would take occasion, one day, just so 
sure as he lived, to caricature the whole scene in a man- 
ner which would just as surely bring them (who, he 
admitted, had been rather too rude and imprudent) into 
the most annoying species of ridicule. He moreover 
added, with a very ugly oath, by way of enforcing his 
opinion, that " Old Sol" had a more inventive genius in 
that line than even "Old Nick" himself, and that, unless 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 137 

some apology could be offered, he verily feared the morn- 
ing papers might blazon the whole affair to all New 
Orleans to-morrow. The whiskered gentleman paled 
visibly, and looked awfully blank as this suggestion fell 
on his ear, for he was, after all, a sensitive body ; the 
hawk-nosed fellow bleared his eyes, and made a dry 
attempt to whistle down his apprehensions ; the little 
Frenchman shrugged more feelingly and emphatical- 
ly than ever ; whilst the fat man himself twisted his 
mouth half way on the road towards his left ear, and 
rubbed his capacious paunch with evident uneasiness. 
Notwithstanding the diversion which this sage and ludi- 
crous consultation inwardly affbrded me, I could not 
help now sympathizing with them, after having thus 
found that they really were men of sensibility, though 
certainly somewhat on the cockney order. I knew quite 
too much of "Old Sol" not to believe readily what the 
fat man had said, and more besides, unless he too should 
have discovered (as, considering his keen perception, it 
was likely he had) that they were more frisky and im- 
prudent than really rude. The manager is everywhere 
reputed to be eminently amiable and forbearing, and (if 
this was himself), in the event named, I concluded he 
might be fully satisfied with his humorous revenge. It 
was agreed, however, by the confederates, that the hawk- 
nosed fellow, the little Frenchman, and the fat man 
should attend to the ladies and baggage after the boat 
landed, whilst the whiskered gentleman should guard the 
gangway in every direction, that he might not miss in- 
troducing himself to No. 18, and, in case it was "Old 
Sol," to offer humble apologies for what had happened. 
The reader is not, by any means, to suppose that, during 

12* 



138 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

these whole laughable adventures of my four friends, I 
had not been somewhat curious myself to make the same 
discovery as to the identity of No. 18 with the celebrated 
comedian and manager, though from a very different 
motive from that which had inspired these luckless gen- 
tlemen to hazard a personal inquiry for satisfaction, I 
resolved, therefore, to throw myself in the way when 
this rencontre took place between the tenant of No. 18 
and my friend of the red whiskers and bushy beard. 

About three hours before noon, the boat drew up by the 
wharf at the lake end of the Pontchartrain railroad, and 
all was bustle and excitement to get ashore and secure 
a ticket before the cars came down from the city. Turn- 
ing the care of my baggage entirely over to the trusty 
servant who accompanied me, I took possession of a sofa 
near the saloon where I knew all must pass in leaving 
the boat. The gentleman with the red whiskers was 
promenading rapidly in the same neighborhood, awaiting 
the appearance of the mysterious personage. Most of 
the ladies had passed out long since, and the gentlemen 
were fast thinning on board. I began to fear that No. 18 
had given us the slip, or else did not intend going ashore. 
Probably he was, after all, an officer or stockholder con- 
nected with the boat ! Or he might be a gentleman of 
mere leisure, steaming it alternately between the two 
cities! My friend of the whiskers increased the gait of 
his promenade, and was evidently growing very impa- 
tient. I had almost concluded to take my leave, and had 
actually closed the book I pretended to be reading, when, 
presto ! the door of the ladies' saloon was opened, and 
forth came the truant of No. 18, with a long black sur- 
tout drawn over his small-clothes, with his features more 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 139 

quizzically drawn than ever, and, mirabile dictic ! a 
beautiful, fair-haired, graceful young lady leaning most 
charmingly on his left arm! A roguish smile dimpled 
her mouth and rosy cheeks; and when, hat off, right foot 
advanced a pace — cane most exquisitely thrown up under 
the left arm-pit, whilst the head rested in his hand — and 
with an affected smirk and low bow, the red-whiskered 
dandy approached to salute the old gentleman, I could 
perceive that she was almost convulsed with laughter, 
which she was struggling to repress. 

Her appearance was w'holly a surprise, and had been 
a fatal damper to my friend, who had prepared the whole 
of his plan of action before encountering the resistless 
glances of her heart-piercing, sparkling blue eye, now 
preternaturally refulgent with smothered mirth. He was 
taken all aback, and thrown hors de combat most sadly 
and irretrievably. His tongue refused to do its office, 
and he stood as if suddenly enchanted, in the most ludi- 
crous attitude imaginable, while the elderly gentleman, 
who relaxed not a single muscle of his comical physiog- 
nomy, passed quietly on with a half bow to the bewil- 
dered dandy, and (as I thought) a very quizzical wink 
of the eye at me. 

I know not whether it be so, but I shall believe, to my 
dying day, that this unknown personage had either over- 
heard, or been fully warned by some mischievous eaves- 
dropper, of the consultation and agreement in front of 
the wash-room. The laughing damsel, his own inimitable 
and farcical manner, and the long delay after most others 
of the passengers had left the boat, all go to prove this 
much. At any rate, if the tenant of No. 18 was in very 
truth the eccentric Southern Manager, he has never, even 



140 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

in the " Lying Varlet" or " Dominie Sampson," made 
happier strokes at humor. But I went ashore, perfectly 
ignorant as to the question of identity betwixt the two 
personages. The captain and clerk were both out of 
reach, in the hurry and bustle of discharging the boat's 
freight, and all information was blocked, therefore, from 
this quarter. I did not see the old man or his fair com- 
panion afterwards, although I watched to see them at the 
St. Charles. 

I may as well say, too, that I never saw the whiskered 
gentleman, or any of his associates, after I parted from 
them at the depot in the city. Whether I shall ever be 
able to solve the riddle of identity at all is now extreme- 
ly questionable. Several of the manager's friends, to whom 
I have mentioned these incidents, have seriously doubt- 
ed whether he could have been the singular tenant of No. 
18; but they allow at the same time that it was some one 
who both represented and imitated him remarkably well. 
Others again have thought differently, and^ declare the 
whole affair to have been too much like " Old Sol" for 
the tenant of No. 18 to have been any body but his very 
self in propria per son (B. 

I leave the courteous and kind reader, therefore, in 
the same ignorance and to the same conjectures which 
have sharpened my own curiosity, and employed my 
guessing faculties. If, in some future volume of the 
"Anecdotical Recollections," the humorous author shall 
not give to his readers a more racy and amusing account 
of a like adventure, I shall conclude, of course, that the 
eccentric occupant of No. 18 was another person than 
"Old Sol." 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 141 



CHAPTER X. 

A CAMPAIGN BARBECUE IN THE SOUTHWEST. 

It was my lot, during the last Presidential campaign, 
to attend a barbecue furnished jointly by the two politi- 
cal parties, and at which it was understood that both 
whig and democrat were to speak alternately. Being a 
specially invited guest, as soon as I arrived on the ground 
the joint committee came promptly and politely forward, 
and asked ^me to the rostrum or scaffold which had 
been erected for the accommodation of the speakers, and 
of the favored few who, like myself, were sufficiently 
well off in the way of active friends to be furnished with 
a comfortable seat. 

The speakers had been selected for a week before- 
hand, and as it was to be a regular fisticuff fight, or 
genuine party conflict, these had been chosen with spe- 
cial reference to their efficiency in the stumping line, 
and none who w^ere not fairly posted up with facts and 
foibles bearing on the character of either candidate were 
allowed to consume the precious time set apart to make 
converts to the one side or the other. Calm, dispassion- 
ate argument, sound reason, and a candid exposition of 
the principles which separated the two parties, were, it 
was distinctly understood, to be totally expurgated and 
eschewed. The discussion was not to be hampered 
with such useless supererogation ; the people would not 



142 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

listen; the occasion would be lost alike to both Cass and 
Taylor. In fact, I discovered that all, of each party, 
who, from previous discussions, had been found able to 
scold the loudest, quarrel the fiercest, abuse the sound- 
est, and who possessed the art of speaking the longest 
without coming to the point at issue, were the favored 
champions of this debate. Thus, whigs who never in 
their lives had heard of Lewis Cass had come there per- 
fectly rampant to have him dissected and picked to tat- 
ters ; and, on the other hand, democrats who, a month or 
so before, would have " pitched into" their nearest friend, 
or neighbor, who would have rashly ventured to say the 
least harsh thing against Gen. Taylor, came, like butch- 
ers to the slaughter pen, whetted keenly to hear him 
triumphantly degraded, and hurled from his high and 
proud position. Sad comments on the permanence of 
republican governments! 

The meeting was respectably attended by both sexes. 
Of the number present, it was soon ascertained that there 
were 109 democrats, 87 whigs, 3 neutral, and one raw 
Irishman, a well-digger by trade, who swore lustily, 
when questioned, "that he had nivir heard of any Prisidint 
but Andhrew McJackson, and he meant to vote for him, 
deader alive, as sure as swate Jasus was crucified." 

" Well, but Jerry," said a warm old democrat pre- 
sent, "the General has served his time long ago, and 
has been dead and buried these three years." 

" Divil may care," replied the honest and simple- 
minded old Hibernian, who often boasted that he had 
been 6aien under Packenham, and taken prisoner at New 
Orleans by Jackson, " and suppose, Misther, he takes it 
into his hol-head to come back agin, who 'II hinder him, 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 143 

think you ? Why, man, I saw a cannon ball splet to 
flenders aginst his forehead at New Orleans, and him 
nivir so much as staggered." 

This satisfied the democratic portion of his audience, 
and was justly considered a knock-down argument by 
the whigs ; and, therefore, both sides determined to make 
all the effort at the three neutrals on the ground, one of 
whom was an old widow lady whose son would just be 
of age in time to vote in November. The next was a 
quiet and wealthy old planter, famed for his devotion to 
cotton fields, and his ignorance of politics, and who had 
unfortunately lost part of his palate,, which caused him 
to speak a nasal dialect of his own, very unintelligible, 
and very difficult to get out. The third was his overseer, 
a fat, merry-faced, rubicund fellow, who was supposed 
to have his opinion sneakingly made up, but chose, from 
prudential motives, to remain ostensibly on the fence 
with his testy old employer, who gave him the best sort 
of wages, besides supporting his family. To make a 
dash at these three, then, was the object of all the 
gathering, all the victuals, and all the speaking ; for, in 
general, at such places, people who have not made up 
their minds rarely attend, both from disapproving of such 
evidences of party ferocity, and from the desire to avoid 
the officious zeal and attentions of the noisy brawlers who 
there congregate to scatter documents and diflfuse their 
own gleanings. And, indeed, whole flocks of dense, busy, 
and patriotic partisans were now seen strutting and per- 
ambulating through the crowd, their pockets stuffed to 
bursting, and their hats barely surmounting the crown 
of their heads, from an overflow of newspapers and 
pamphlets within. No rebuff could silence them, no 



144 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

hint could be made intelligible to them ; whilst, like a 
parcel of bull-terriers when rat-hunting, they kept a con- 
stant eye on the motions of each other, fearing that some 
adverse document might be slipped slyly into some 
plain old voter's hands without its corresponding anti- 
dote. 

" I see you are disengaged, my friend !" said a zealous 
whig, going up to a tall, bulky, homespun-dressed farmer 
who sat alone under a huge oak tree; " here is the last 
'Louisville Journal;' you will find it t^er^/ interesting." 

"The 'Louisville Journal,' is it?" asked a hot demo- 
crat, sneeringly, who had followed him up. "I wonder 
you can otTer the old man such a dirty, contemptible 
sheet. Here, sir, is the 'Washington Union,' the organ 
of the government, and the best and truest text of genu- 
ine democracy." 

" Very true," answers the whig, contemptuously. " A 
lying, slanderous, foul paper, edited by a driveling 
fanatic. Now, sir, if you want a decent, dignified paper, 
allow me to hand you the 'National Intelligencer,' which 
never stoops to personal abuse." 

" Yes, and let him see how a wool-dyed whig, who 
belongs to the Mexicans, can talk about American 
statesmen and presidents — a vile print, that is always 
against the government," replied the exasperated demo- 
crat, with furious gestures. 

" Mexican, hey ?" said the whig, elevating his eye- 
brows. " I wonder what Santa Anna would say to that !" 

" What do you mean ?" asked the democrat, bristling 
like a wild boar. 

" Oh, just ask James K. Polk, and he'll tell you all 
about it from beginning to end," said the other, winking 
at the farmer. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 146 

" See here, gentlemen," exclaimed the sturdy coun- 
tryman, rising, and regarding the contestants with a 
glance that showed plainly he meant what he was saying, 
" I don't care, and didn't come here to be bothered with 
any such chat, and I ain't agoing to be, mind. I am able 
to pay for my own papers, and know how to read them 
without your aid. So clear out, if you please ; I'm in no 
humor to be plagued by you." 

" But, my good friend — " started the whig, poking 
his bundle at him. 

"My dear sir," began the other, alertly slipping a 
parcel in the flap pocket of the old man's coat. 

"See here, you pestersome rascals," said the coun- 
tryman, extending his brawny arms, and shoving them 
from each side roughly, with their papers after them, 
"if you don't get off from me, I'll drub both of you into 
a cocked hat." 

A number of lookers-on around burst into a hearty 
laugh at this ludicrous discomfiture of the two zealous 
partisans ; and, as the countryman still stood in a 
menacing attitude, with his huge fist most ominously 
clenched, each of the newspaper knights gathered up 
his rejected documents with a hasty, apprehensive sort 
of motion, bending away over, with one leg stretched 
cautiously out to guard against a sudden onset, and then 
stole sheepishly off to another part of the ground. 

At this moment, the marshal ascended a high stump 
in the centre of the grove, shouting out, with stento- 
rian voice, "Oh yes! oh yes! this way, gintlemen, if 
you please! Gintlemen," he continued, swelling with 
importance as the gaping crowd of rustics gathered 
around him, "gintlemen, you will take notice that din- 
13 



146 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

ner will be served just at one o'clock, at which time due 
notice will be given by me. The first thing in order is 
the speeches. One side will speak first, and the other 
side next." 

" I say, uncle Ben !" shouted a greedy, hungry-looking 
fellow, tiptoeing over the crowd, and addressing the mar- 
shal, " how many sides speaks before dinner?" 

*' Look here, Sam Huckleby, you must hold in, or 
leave this here crowd," replied the marshal to his inter- 
rupter, and then again, turning to the bystanders, he con- 
tinued : "You see, gintlemen, each speaker will occupy 
a hour and a half, subject to be called down to the very 
second. Arter two has talked, then comes dinner, and 
the ladies is to go up first, and then the men. Those 
that don't git places at the first table needn't be afeard. 
We've axed you here, my friends, and we've got a plenty 
to feed you all leargely. So, now, gintlemen, to the 
stand — when dinner's over, we'll have two more speeches 
to cool down on. Let all go and listen." 

In obedience to this programme, the crowd of eager 
listeners assembled noisily around the rostrum, alike in- 
flamed with expectation of a treat in the conflict now 
about to come off", and of a more acceptable treat in the 
smoking dinner to succeed. The old widowed dame, 
mother of the rising voter, was conspicuously and com- 
fortably seated in a chair immediately under the stand, 
with her back to the speakers ; while the sore-eyed old 
planter and his jolly-looking overseer were paraded to a 
rude sort of bench just in front. As for the sturdy fol- 
lower of Andhrew McJackson, an old-fashioned Irish junk 
(which the sly old rogue carried in his pocket) had done 
its work by this time, and that honest gentleman had 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 147 

been ingeniously cajoled from the ground by one or two 
of the old Hickory stand-bys, who admired too much his 
genuine loyalty to have him more roughly treated. 

"Gintlemen," again said the marshal, rising,"! have 
the honor of introducing to you my honorable friend 
Capt. Cockroach, who will tell you something about Cass 
and Butler." 

According to preconcerted arrangement among the 
democrats present, Capt. Cockroach was cheered and 
huzzaed as he rose, bowing and bobbing to the crowd. 
He then began his harangue with a spirited return of 
thanks and a few congratulatory remarks at the bright- 
ening prospects of the Baltimore nominees. All this 
time, however, he had been arranging his plan of battle, 
and preparing his batteries, which were drawn in the 
shape of immense piles of documents from a pair of wal- 
lets that were conveniently hung over the bar of the stand. 
I soon found that it was no part of Capt. Cockroach's 
tactics to stand a siege, or proceed on the defensive, and 
that the worthy uncle Ben had egregiously missed the 
mark when he said. that the speaker would talk about 
Cass and Butler. He scarcely called their names once, 
but opened a distant dropping fire right away at the 
ffallant old whis: candidate. This bombardment lasted 
for something over half an hour, and then the captain un- 
masked a light grape-shot battery, and rattled away with 
such an incessant shower, that I almost thought Bragg 
had turned Mexican, and was pouring in a counter fire 
of " grape" at his old commander. It was evident, 
however, from the looks of the crowd, that old Zack had 
not been wounded yet, although some of the democrats 
were clapping and stamping merrily enough. The speaker 



148 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

cast a furtive look to see if his assault had made any im- 
pression on the anxious class. The old lady's head was 
down, and she was calmly rocking to and fro in her 
chair ; the old planter looked a little out of sorts ; but the 
overseer was grinning away, as much amused at the 
action of the crowd as at the ridicule of the speaker, 
looking first from one to the other. The affair was yet in 
its crisis, and the captain concluded to let loose his line 
of heavy pieces. It opened with a deafening roar, and 
the whio-s all be^an to look a little blue. " Old Zack was 
a man without principles ; didn't know what a tariff was 
from the full moon; only knew the bank by the money 
his whig friends had drawn from it ; was afraid to en- 
dorse either ; he was, in fact, a crawfish, that took two 
steps back to one forward " 

"Helloh, there," shouted a young, verdant whig, 
" did the old fellow crawfish at Bony Vistar?" 

This side volley took the captain a la ambuscade. He 
was momentarily forced to slacken fire, and fall back ; 
and the whigs made the welkin ring, and the democrats 
began to cry " put him out — no interruption!" 

"Yes, gintlemen," said uncle Ben, "interruptions is 
agin the rules — you may clap, and stomp, and holler a 
little, but you mustn't talk to the speakers." 

The Captain, however, had been awfully floundered, 
and did not recover so easily as his friends hoped. He 
now found that it was necessary to leave the centre of 
attack, and divert his enemies by a flank manoeuvre. 
With this view he pushed forward his reserve battery, 
and opened a furious and merciless cannonade against 
the person and character of the whig candidate for Vice- 
President. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 149 

In the midst of these Demosthenian invectives, so un- 
sparingly launched, the passing breeze ever and anon 
would fill the gorgeous whig banner, which, floating 
above, bore, reversely to old Zack's, the picture of Mr. 
Fillmore ; and as his handsome, open, and manly fea- 
tures would be exposed, I fancied I saw in their benign 
and frank expression a more than powerful rebutter to 
the whirlwind of abuse which was beating against him. 
Calmly and smilingly that fine face beamed alike before 
. friends and opponents, inspiring the last with reluctant 
respect, and filling the first with irrepressible admira- 
tion ; and once, in the very midst of a violent philippic, 
as the stern, Jove-like features of old Rough and Ready 
were wafted half around, so that his face rested side by 
side with that of Fillmore (as if to cover him with pa- 
rental solicitude from the attack thus leveled against the 
stranger in his own sunny South), the distant hills again 
rang with a shout sent forth from the bosoms of those 
who welcomed the agreeable omen. 

Still the words and charges of the infuriated orator 
seemed to tell with his hearers on the anxious bench : 
the suspicious old planter grew uneasy and restless at 
the array of testimony brought up to prove the Vice-Pre- 
sident as an abolitionist. 

" Whad is the dabe of thad bad he's dalking aboud, 
cad you tell, bister ?" said he, in smothered accents 
through his nose, appealing to a man at his side. 

"The man he's talking about!" said the other, who 
happened to be a whig. "You may well ask that ques- 
tion, for his own mother wouldn't know him as Cockroach 
describes him — why, he's talking about Millard Fill- 
more." 

13* 



150 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

" Billar Fillbore, hey !" repeated the old man — " well, 
I'll dry and recollecd Bister Billar Fillbore." 

" I hope you will," said a democrat, who happened to 
overhear the conversation. "He's a ranker abolitionist 
than old Arthur Tappan himself! Sir, I raally and truly 
believes his heart's as black as the ace of clubs. Mil- 
lard Fillmore for Vice-President, indeed!" 

"Not quite so black, though, as his heart who 'pray- 
ed for the speedy abolition of slavery everywhere,' " 
answered the whig with a knowing wink at the old man. 

"And who bade thad prayer, bister?" asked the old 
man, with an inquisitive expression. 

" Lewis Cass," answered the whig, quickly. 

" Yes, but you don't tell the whole story," put in the 
democrat. 

" Thad is quide enough for be" — replied the old man. 
" Bister Lewuz Cazz, hey ! Well, I'll dry and not forged 
Bister Lewiz Cazz either ! Jimmey," he continued, 
turning to his overseer, and punching him in the side, 
" dond led 's forged to vode agaidst Bister Billar Fill- 
bore, and Bister Lewiz Cazz both." 

"No, I won't forget it, Mr. Hardcase," replied his ob- 
sequious friend. 

Whilst this sage controversy was going on, the allotted 
hour and a half of Capt. Cockroach expired, and he sat 
down amidst prolonged and vociferous cheers. 

" Gintlemen," said uncle Ben, the marshal, again ris- 
ing before the audience, "gintlemen, Capt. Cockroach 
having got through, let me introduce my honorable friend 
Maj. Gunsmasher, who will talk to you about the other 
side of the question." 

The democrats, who all along had occupied the front 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 151 

seats about the stand, now fell back to make way for 
the whigs, who came rushing up en masse, shouting for 
Maj, Gunsmasher, and cheering Taylor and Fillmore. 
At the same time, a double-jointed, brawny negro, piloted 
by an assistant whig marshal, tottered up to the back of 
the stand, and with a hearty effort set down a huge 
leathern trunk which contained the major's ammunition. 
From this the whig champion began to draw forth docu- 
ment after document, and book after book, piling them 
all regularly up before him, until at last he succeeded 
in constructing a barricade which looked for all the world 
like a picture of one of the forts at Monterey, and be- 
hind which the valiant major could just be fairly seen as 
he armed and prepared for the conflict. 

" Them's the licks" — said a whig to those around 
him. "I tell you, boys, I knows Gunsmasher, and he 
ain't a going to leave an inch of hide on Cockroach." 

" By Jing, I hope he'll peel him as raw as a skinned 
ingon, for he's gin old Zack no quarter," said another. 

" Yes, he desarves to have his tallow melted out'n 
him," put in a third. 

" Don't get sore yet awhile, fellers," said a democrat, 
who was standing near. " We've got something hotter 
behind yet." 

" Yes, and if you stays here until Gunsraasher's done, 
you'll go home scabbier than ever you did before," re- 
plied the first spokesman. 

" Yes, you'll want mullen and slippery elm fur a month 
to come," said the second. 

" Hurrah for Cass and Billy Butler," shouted the con- 
fident and defying democrat, walking away. 

The major had now commenced his escalading and 



152 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

sharp-shooting. Capt. Cockroach had relied solely on 
broadsides; the major seemed rather to prefer small arms, 
which, if less destructive, were far more annoying. But 
in one respect their tactics were similar; they both be- 
lieved, like Scipio, that the best way to drive Hannibal 
out of Italy was to carry the war into Africa. 

Accordingly, the major had not more than discharged 
his first round, before he pitched full tilt against Gen. 
Cass, and poured out a continuous, rolling fire of pepper 
corns and mustard seed, recollecting that Napoleon by 
the same ingenious plan had swept the Mamaluke cavalry 
from the face of the desert. Before the first half hour 
had well passed, the honest-hearted and illustrious sena- 
tor was perforated through every pore, and literally blown 
to atoms by piecemeal. Figures, which, the major 
sagely remarked, never were known to lie, were arrayed, 
and sentences quoted, and facts brought to bear which 
stripped him of all claim to honesty, and I doubt not 
that many left the ground fully believing that the veteran 
Cass was a highway robber; just as, in the other case, 
many democrats had drunk in the round assertion of 
Capt. Cockroach, that Mr. Polk had planned all of Gen. 
Taylor's battles, and was entitled to the credit of all his 
victories. Every luckless expression, every inadvertent 
act, every hap-hazard and natural boast, every feature 
of his public character, and every transaction of his 
private life were brought up in judgment against the 
honest old senator. The broad and beautiful demo- 
cratic banner waved above the head of the speaker, 
opposite to that of the whigs, and the burly, frank coun- 
tenance of Gen. Cass stood out with bold relief in his 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 153 

favor, stamped with benevolence, and wreathed with a 
hirking expression of stoic calmness. 

It is not a bad idea to paint the faces of antagonists 
for these high offices on our party banners! It restrains 
many an impudent burst of factional malignity, and 
wins us, by association, from the passion of party to the 
purer shrine of patriotism ! 

After some few side thrusts at the want of proper cha- 
ritable feeling (as the major called it) displayed by his 
adversary in regard to Mr. Fillmore, and an eloquent de- 
fence of that distinguished personage, Maj. Gunsmasher 
was also called down to time ; and then the long-expect- 
ed, eagerly-desired, inspiring signal for dinner was pomp- 
ously muezzined by the chief marshal, and a general 
dash w^as instantly made for the tables. These were 
arranged in parallel rows, at intervals only of a few feet, 
and close beside the savory, smoking pit. The ladies were 
quickly provided for, and then each voter, rejoicing in 
his free privileges, fell greedily to work. Roasted beef, 
and mutton saddles, and greasy, barbecued shoats, and 
venison haunches, and whole armies of minor victims 
were indiscriminately assaulted and unceremoniously 
dispatched. Plates rattled, and dishes cracked, and 
tumblers rang forth their harmonicon notes, and the on- 
slaught of knives and forks resounded and reverberated 
like the clash of arms in an old-fashioned conflict. A 
distant listener might even have heard the sharp smack 
of lips, and the more appalling crash of teeth as grinders 
tore apart the quivering flesh from its parent bone. Po- 
litical animosities were greased over at this welcome 
and all-healing shrine, and Cass men and Taylor men 
joined forces in the common foray. It was like Marion 



154 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

feasting the British officer on his roasted potatoes, and 
then telling him that there was a Bryseis in dispute, about 
whom they must fight to-morrow. Well! better over a 
smoking dinner, I think, than not at all! 

In the afternoon, two short speeches were delivered to 
the dull and drowsy auditors, and then the wireworkers 
of each party eagerly ran up to find the state of opinion 
among the three cases for which they had waged mortal 
strife for the last six hours. All was anxious expecta- 
tion. 

" Well, old man," said a democrat to the old sore- 
eyed planter, who was calmly picking his teeth, " now 
that you have your head and belly both well filled, how 
do you stand ?" 

" If you are dalking to be, by friend," replied the old 
planter, shaking his toothpick, " I cad dell you by bind 
wad fully bade up long ago — " 

" How — how ?" exclaimed a dozen eager voices. 

" Why, I shall vode for old Zag Daylor," was the 
reply. 

"What!" said a Cass man, "and for that abolitionist 
Fillmore for Vice-President, too?" 

" No," was the brief, emphatic answer. 

" For whom, then?" asked an eager democrat, spark- 
lingly. 

"Old Zag Daylor," was again shortly answered, 

" You are mad ; Old Zack is only a candidate for 
President." 

" Can'd helb id, bud wish I could. You see, by 
friends, I cad vode for hib for both, and thed Old Zag 
may dake whichever he wants, for by pard." 

A general laugh from both parties followed the an- 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 155 

nouncement of this unique conclusion, and Mr. Hard- 
case was universally turned over to offset the Hibernian 
admirer of Andhrew McJackson. 

"And how is it with you ?" said another, turning to 
the overseer, who stood close by, grinning from ear to 
ear. 

" Oh ! I am pretty much like the old man, only I took 
a sort o' shine to old Cass, too," was the reply ; "I'll try 
and split the difference betwixt them in ray vote." 

" Better split your infernally thick skull!" was the 
smothered response from both parties. 

" Well, my good madam," said a whig, addressing 
the old widow, mother of him who was soon to vote, 
" and how do you stand affected to the candidates?" 

"Me?" asked the old lady, in reply; "O! I've 
taken a mighty yearning to Milly Fillmore there! He's 
a winsome, engagin' man, favored like my poor husband 
that's dead and gone. Bill shall vote for him, if he 
lives." 

" Well, but about the others ?" 

"La me, gents! I'm sincerely jubous about all them 
gin'rals." 

The parties, as the saying is, vamosed. 



156 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 



CHAPTER XI. 

TRAITS OF NEGRO CHARACTER IN THE SOUTH. 

How much is comprehended in the one word slavery ! 
In the whole dictionary, no one word seems to strike the 
mind of a freeman with such holy abhorrence. Vice, 
depravity, degradation, infamy, meanness, covetousness, 
slander, and even infidelity and blasphemy, are all con- 
templated with far less of horror and disgust. Among 
the citizens of what are called the free States of our 
Union, which are formed of generations that have entirely 
forgotten the habits and business (in one sense, at least) 
of their worthy forefathers — and in Great Britain, the 
alma mater and progenitress of African slavery — a south- 
ern negro is regarded as a living deformity of vice and 
prostitution, a being with the shape of man, but lower 
in infamy than the brute ; a member of the great human 
family, whose situation is so depraved and isolated, so 
impervious to all hopes of amelioration or of reformation, 
and so entirely cut off from sympathy with the human 
race, that all association with him is considered danger- 
ous and contaminating. It is only with his persecutors 
and oppressors, as they are called, that the poor slave is 
held worthy of respect, of admiration, of confidence, of 
friendship. Yet the owners of slaves do not obtain 
credit for this. On the other hand, they are generally 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 157 

held up in other States and countries as inhuman mon- 
sters, addicted to the worst of crimes, as delighting in 
barbarous practices and cruel punishments, and as the 
upholders of an institution opposed by the divine, the 
moral, and the natural law. I have been oftentimes 
amused, when a schoolboy, to find in my Olney's and 
Morse's Geography (excellent and useful books) the 
picture of slaves at work on a cotton or sugar plantation 
in the South, representing them as lean, broken-spirited, 
demure-looking creatures — the men without even shirts, 
and the women covered partly with a short bodice or 
tunic (sufficient only to protect the modesty of female 
students), whilst a lazy, sluggish, pampered overseer was 
seen in their midst flourishing an immense bludgeon, or 
wagon-whip, urging them to their tasks with a look of 
the most relentless ferocity. These plates are given to 
illustrate the mode of treating and working our slaves, 
and it seems to have been intended by the ingenious 
engraver to enforce the impression, so prevalent in the 
Northern States, that the Southern negro is half fed, 
half clothed, lifeless and spiritless in disposition, and 
that our overseers stand among them only to be amused 
now and then by applying the lash to the naked back of 
some grim, sulky fellow, or to the sleek legs of a tidy, 
" unadorned" slut of a negress. Now, to soothe the 
excited humanity of these horror-stricken artists, let me 
mention that I have seen many a group of grinning 
negro urchins and little merry-eyed black hussies, when 
accidentally engaged in looking over their young master's 
or mistress's school books of a Sunday morning (which 
is generally a time when all the negro children on the 
plantation feel at liberty to lurk and dodge around their 
14 



158 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

owner's mansion), and coming across a picture of this 
character, laugh heartily at their own ridiculous and 
contorted portraits, whilst some curious chap, more 
advanced in age, would chuckle to think that anybody 
in the world thought the cotton-field ever afforded such 
an exhibition. And so far from the overseer being 
placed there to gratify vindictiveness or indulge a heart- 
less and brutal propensity, his duty is, like that of a 
schoolmaster whom we require to watch the studies of 
our children, to be always at his post, and in their midst 
when at labor, that, by observing their work, he may 
distinguish the careless from the careful, the lazy from the 
industrious, and protect the plant from the incautious and 
injurious use of tools, and thus prevent the necessity for 
using the lash. Without this constant presence of an 
overseer or foreman, the hopes of the planter would often 
be blasted, and the slave would fare incalculably worse. 
But it is not ray object, in this sketch, to defend slav- 
ery. Whether right or wrong, the opinions and sympa- 
thies of the whole civilized world are against us. In this 
respect, we stand as much isolated as the negroes them- 
selves. I should be far more averse, however, to under- 
take a defence of our policy towards the Indians. The 
lot and condition of these unhappy and ill-fated people 
are far more deplorable than those of the Southern slaves. 
Our conduct, as respects right and justice, humanity and 
religion, is vastly more to be contemned and reprehended, 
when viewed in connection with our Indian policy, than 
in the other case. Of the Northern tribes scarcely any 
remain, whilst in the Southern States, acting upon the 
example of our Northern brethren, we are urging them 
further every day; and in a few years more a red man 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 159 

will be a rare sight in the land of his inheritance. Even 
in the wild prairies and territories of the west, they are 
found to be in the way, and steps are being taken, and 
means prepared, to move them off towards the distant 
shores of the Pacific. The negroes, in like manner, are 
being constantly urged westward, and driven from State 
to State further South, from precisely the same heartless 
policy and un-christian motive, viz., they are found to he 
in the way of the grasping, enterprising Anglo-Saxon. 
The older and more settled a State becomes, the less use 
we have for these enslaved wanderers from Africa. This 
alone (and not obedience to any human or religious sug- 
gestion) has driven the Indian and the negro alike from 
Maine to Virginia, and now from Virginia through the 
Carolinas to Georgia and the South-western States ; and 
the same principle, in process of time, will oust them from 
these ; and so on until all must end, as De Tocqueville 
says, either in amalgamation or extermination. 

There never has been a time, since the first British or 
Northern slavedealer kidnapped a poor, credulous Afri- 
can, that slaves have been so happy or so well treated as 
they are novi' in the Southern States of this Union. 

Their natural affections are respected and encouraged 
with sedulous regard to their happiness, and their attach- 
ments as human beings fully developed and cultivated. 
Indeed, there is a species of attachment daily growing 
and increasing between the slaves and their masters' 
families, which will, I sometimes imagine, gain such firm 
hold and gather such strength as utterly to prevent the 
adoption of any plan having for its object the emanci- 
pation of the slaves, and, perhaps, result in the permanent 
and inalienable recognition of the institution. With the 



160 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

majority of slaveholders this feeling far outweighs that 
of mere interest. I find a great many here who express 
a perfect willingness to supersede gradually slave labor; 
but I have seen very few who are willing to part with 
their slaves. They have been raised together; the asso- 
ciations anil recollections of boyhood and early life all 
centre around the same scenes; in many instances, they 
may have matriculated at the same breast (for it is by 
no means uncommon, even in the highest classes, for 
black women to nurse their mistress's babe), and none 
but Southerners can understand or appreciate the peculiar 
sympathies which thus are generated betwixt the master 
and his slave. The present generation of Southerners 
are eminently the friends of the slaves, in every sense of 
the word, unless holding them in bondage be considered 
as dis-allied with such feeling. Of course, I do not mean 
to insinuate that this is universal. Not at all. As 
Chancellor Harper, in his most elegant essay on slavery, 
most aptly remarks : There are men whose natures are 
wayward and depraved, and who perpetrate the most 
a'rocious and brutal cruelties on this unfortunate race. 
But these men, when properly known or exposed, are 
never countenanced in their neighborhood, and nothing 
nowadays is visited with more indignant and withering 
condemnation than harsh and mean treatment of slaves. 
Conscious fully of this agreeable and interesting fact, the 
slaves themselves are vastly improved in their moral and 
social habits. They are infinitely more docile under the 
yoke, and the best proof is offered in the fact that insur- 
rections and revolts are almost out of date. The writer 
has lived for thirty years in the heart of populous slave 
countries, been with them under all circumstances, and 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 161 

witnessed congregations of whole hundreds and thousands 
when scarcely fifty white men were in hearing distance, 
and has yet to see the time when such a thing was ever 
contemplated by the slaves, or seriously apprehended by 
the whites. There is hardly a planter in Mississippi, 
surrounded in some cases by a hundred or two of slaves, 
who closes his chamber doors or windows of a summer 
night ; and many have not such a thing as a gun or de- 
fensive weapon about their houses. Wives and daugh- 
ters, and sisters and mothers are frequently left without a 
male protector for days and weeks at a time, and yet our 
court records afford scarcely a case even of attempted 
insult or injury. Can any other country of the whole 
civilized world boast as much? What noble testimony 
in favor of the fidelity and chivalry of the Southern negro 
does such a fact afford! And yet it is strictly true, and 
without the shadow of exaggeration. 

There is a certain planter in Mississippi who owns 
some hundred slaves, all of whom were born and raised 
in his own or his wife's family. He lived several miles 
from the county town, and was in the habit of going there 
frequently of a morning, and coming home at night. At 
such times he rode a fiery, high-mettled, and rather in- 
tractable horse, famous for its speed and spirit. Return- 
ing one evening rather later than usual, he was suddenly 
overtaken by a severe thunder-storm, and the cloud 
threatened to burst and disgorge its contents every mo- 
ment. Under these circumstances, the planter halted with 
a hospitable neighbor, and concluded to spend the night 
rather than run the risk of getting wet. As he dismount- 
ed, an old negro received from his hands the bridle-rein 
of his frightened steed ; but at that moment a loud clap 

14* 



162 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

of thunder so increased its fright that the grasp of the 
groom was broken in an instant, and the fiery animal 
broke at full speed for home. About an hour afterwards, 
a faithful and valued young negro fellow, whose cabin 
was next to the road, was suddenly aroused by the fami- 
liar neighing of his master's favorite horse, which was 
coming at a tearing gallop up the lane in front. Opening 
his door, despite the fury of the storm, to see if all was 
right, at this late hour and under such circumstances 
•with that master whom he loved more than any one else, 
the poor fellow was terribly alarmed to discover, as the 
horse passed at its reckless gait, that the rider was not 
in his seat. Filled with restless and eager apprehen- 
sions, the faithful boy rushed out with frantic speed, and 
seized the bridle of the horse as he stopped at the avenue 
gate. He then saw, further, to his dismay, that the saddle 
was missing, and the bridle broken in several places. 
He led the terrified animal to the stable, and went through 
the various slave-cabins to make known the alarming 
and melancholy news. It was received with quaking 
hearts and gloomy forebodings — for the master had been 
raised up in their midst, and most of them had loved him 
from boyhood. A consultation was held. The wife and 
sister were at the house, and already uneasy, though 
hoping that he had either not started from town, or, as 
was the case, had stopped on the way. The old family 
nurse and housekeeper declared it would be the height 
of imprudence to communicate the facts to the ladies ; 
and most of the other servants, agreeing in this, thought 
it was best at least to make some inquiry and search 
during the night before arousing such torturing fears. 
But the boy Pompey (let us call him) dissented altoge- 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 163 

ther, and announced his double resolve to set out through 
rain and storm to find his master, dead or alive, and to 
go straightway to his mistress with the appalling news, 
saying it was right she should know all. Finding that 
he was not to be dissuaded, the old nurse undertook to 
break the news to the ladies, from a kind intention that she 
might do so in such a manner as to keep alive some hope, 
though intending to make known all the facts. Whilst 
this was being done, Pompey and two other trusty deter- 
mined fellows had mounted their mules, and, unbidden 
by overseer or any one, and totally regardless of the rag- 
ing storm, set out on the forlorn and anxious search for 
their master. At the end of the lane, and bordering 
the plantation, was an immense, dreary swamp, watered 
by a large creek, which was now spread out over the 
whole bottom, and roaring and boiling in a frightful man- 
ner. The hearts of the devoted fellows sank within them 
as the thought flashed on their minds that their master had 
missed the bridges and causeway, and been swept off by 
the fierce current. Nothing daunted, they plunged in, 
resolving first to visit the various houses on the road to 
town; and, by dint of swimming and dangerous fording, 
succeeded, after considerable difficulty and delay, in cross- 
ing over. They aroused the inmates of several neigh- 
boring houses, and, hearing nothing of him they sought, 
had almost resolved to turn back and begin their perilous 
search in the deep waters of the swamp. But one of 
the number suggested, fortunately, that they should go 
one mile further to the house of an intimate friend of their 
master. Here they halloed lustily, and the owner of 
the premises appeared at the door of the gallery, and, 
finding who they were, declared the safety of their mas- 



164 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

ter, and was in the act of closing the door. This did not 
at all suit the suspicious and anxious Pompey, who, fear- 
ing the old gentleman w^as merely trying to quiet their 
fears so that they might not further alarm their mistress, 
boldly demanded that they should be allowed to see their 
master, if indeed he was there. In this they were grati- 
fied, and then with numerous ludicrous expressions of 
delight, they declared their intention of returning forth- 
with to relieve the alarmed wife and sister. In vain their 
master forbade them to run such useless risk ; they were 
not then to be controlled, though usually obedient to his 
every wish and command ; and I have often heard both 
ladies describe Pompey as he appeared at their chamber-r , 
door, dripping with rain, and both rows of ivory shining 
joyously through the dark, to tell the successful and grati- 
fying issue of his expedition. 

This must be taken as an instance of genuine, disin- 
terested devotion, illustrating powerfully the docility and 
innate warmth of heart peculiar to the Southern slaves 
when belonging, as the vast majority do, to kind and 
humane masters. No hope of freedom inspired, no 
thought of selfish reward suggested, the dangerous un- 
dertaking; and yet such instances of friendly interest 
are by no means rare. It is probable that nine-tenths of 
Southern planters could tell the same sort of story, as 
having occurred with themselves or some one of their 
neighbors. 

I have heard a distinguished Southern statesman, now 
dead, relate a circumstance directly similar to the above 
as having occurred, on a trying occasion, with two of his 
own favored negroes. It was a delightful, calm sum- 
mer evening, and the family had just taken an airing 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 165 

around the environs of the city in their carriage. As 
they alighted on their return, the nurse, happening to 
meet them with the youngest child, a lovely little girl, in 
her arms, obtained permission to ride out a short distance 
to amuse the infant. No one else went, as the horses 
were thought to be perfectly gentle, and as all confidence 
was placed in the driver's care and skill. But it hap- 
pened, in descending a steep hill which arose beyond the 
river on which the little city was situated, that a breast- 
chain broke, and the carriage being pushed suddenly upon 
the horses, they started off at a furious gait, and evi- 
dently in a fright. The bridge was to be passed, and 
the faithful driver, more alarmed for their precious charge 
than himself, shouted to the nurse with trembling voice 
that he had lost all control over his horses. The honest 
creature did not hesitate, but took her resolve in a mo- 
ment. With wonderful self-possession, which could have 
been inspired by nothing short of her devotion to her. 
owners and their beloved offspring, and as the only pos- 
sible chance, she hastily unfastened the door, and then 
turning so as to make sure of alighting on her back, at 
the same time holding the infant at arms' length above 
her that it might thus escape the slightest jar, she threw 
herself out with a spring, perfectly regardless of every- 
thing but the safety of her master's child. Her plan suc- 
ceeded ; for several gentlemen who witnessed the whole 
affair, running up to her aid immediately, discovered that 
the infant was entirely unhurt, though the devoted nurse 
had sustained severe injury. Fortunately, the horses 
were stopped in time to prevent any serious accident ; 
and afterwards, when the same gentlemen called to con- 
gratulate the distinguished father on his child's escape, 



166 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

« 
they declared to him that he possessed a treasure of price- 
less value in this devoted nurse — a fact of which he was, 
by the by, fully aware. 

Now it would be difficult to match either of the above 
instances by detailing similar acts of considerate devo- 
tion in connection with hired servants, whose bonds of 
affection are altogether of a different nature, and are cul- 
tivated only in proportion to the wages they receive. In 
England or France, where servants, in some cases, are 
retained for long generations in the same families, such 
cases may, and do sometimes occur; but it must be re- 
collected that the one is a slave, and the other a freeman 
— the first purely and entirely disinterested ; the other 
the recipient of yearly wages, and capable from birth of 
being promoted to a higher and more respectable sphere. 
This difference is vital, and leaves a large and highly 
honorable balance in favor of the poor bondman. 
• In times of fire on the plantations, or in the towns and 
cities, none work with such fearless energy, or labor wdth 
such indomitable zeal, as the slaves. The more daring 
and full of danger the feat to be performed, the more 
eager do they become to undertake and accomplish it. 
Their exertions on such occasions to save houses and 
property in which they have not the slightest interest are 
sometimes of such extraordinary character as almost to 
amount to a species of rabid and contagious frenzy. 
And yet a kind look or expression, a word of praise, or 
perhaps a glass of spirits, is all the reward they ever 
desire or look for, and with either of these they go away 
more than satisfied, whilst public thanks, and big din- 
ners, and convivial, complimentary wine suppers fall to 
the lot and flatter the pride of their white co-laborers. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 167 

Many years ago the capitol of one of our sovereign States* 
was saved, as was then universally conceded, only by 
the reckless efforts and unterrified constancy of a brave- 
hearted slave. In this instance, indeed, the legislature, 
then in session, offered to buy and set free the saviour 
of the splendid building in which the whole archives 
and records of the State were depoi;iited ; but the slave 
himself, I believe, refused to be made the recipient of 
their bounty, preferring to remain with a master whom 
he loved rather than obtain his liberty by forever expa- 
triating himself. A deed like this would do honor to the 
memory of a Fabricius, a Manlius, or of the Decii them- 
sc'lves; and the records of those ancient days, when pa- 
triotism was evidenced by the most devoted oblations, 
afforded no such strong and admirable instance of pure 
disinterestedness. 

In addition to these admirable traits of single-hearted- 
ness and devotion, illustrations of which might be inde- 
finitely extended and multiplied, the Southern negro 
inherits a disposition unusually cheerful and buoyant, is 
gifted with a fine imagination, and, as a general thing, 
delights in the marvelous or supernatural. Care never 
wrinkles the slaves' brow, and even when grief assails 
them (as sometimes it does in the most excruciating of 
all ways), their natural impulsiveness and vivacity soon 
enable them to subdue and forget it. With regard to 
their inventive powers or lively creations of fancy, I have 
only to suggest those simple taks of the nursery and 
dining-room, to conjure up whole hosts of fond and cher- 
ished associations of boyhood's bright days to the mind 

* Georgia. 



168 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

of every Southern reader, and which afford the most ac- 
ceptable testimony of the fact. They weave the most 
agreeable and interesting stories in connection with the 
more harmless tenants of our Southern forests ; not Father 
iEsop himself was ever able to concoct more quaint and 
fanciful little fables about opossums, foxes, rabbits, and 
racoons than these merry-souled creatures. Not a hol- 
low stump, or stooping tree, or bubbling spring, or 
rippling stream for miles around the country, but what 
they can clothe with a species of interest that, with loftier 
minds, and in other countries, may have opened exhaust- 
less veins of genuine romance. 

But it is in the awful and the marvelous that they 
most delight, and in which they so greatly excel. Their 
religion is the effect of enthusiasm actively excited by 
a picture of woe or suffering, or a prospect of inviting 
comfort and happiness. If they could be believed with 
safety in matters of religious testimony, it might be 
justly argued that the days of miracles, and strange 
sights, and supernatural warnings, and social intercourse 
between the chosen on earth and the saints in glory, are 
not passed away by a long jump. It is not at all uncom- 
mon for an evangelist or an angel to call down, and, 
taking a score or two of them by the hand, lead them to 
some high mountain, where the whole army of heaven 
may be seen drawn out to meet the prince of darkness. 
They hear every order given during the battle, the shock 
of arras, the most awful roar of artillery, and groans and 
lamentations enough to drown more than all that ever 
came from Rama. They confidently believe (that is, 
the greater part of them) that it is only at the point of 
the bayonet that our Saviour can keep down Satan and 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 169 

his legions, which is very natural, considering that they 
have not sufficient education to distinguish betwixt 
figures of speech and real matters of fact. Hence they 
most generally choose to construe what sermons they 
hear quite literally; and as battle and its roar, its toil and 
its suffering, are favorite topics of illustration with all 
preachers, they very charitably conclude that they are 
listening to plain, unvarnished, downright truth. They 
often give in, as their religious experience, tales of won- 
der and imaginative beauty that bear the impress almost 
of insanity, and which would astonish the most gifted of 
fictitious writers. If they are checked in these super- 
natural flights and alluring mental vagaries, and brought 
down suddenly to the sober realities and substantial re- 
quirements of religion, they are most apt to surrender all 
their Christianity. It has no longer any charms for their 
warm and active imaginations, when divested of this 
hallucinary garb. With a view, I suppose, to induce 
the grand and desirable end of religious toil, by encour- 
aging so happy a delusion, this pious lying is consider- 
ately winked at even by good and intelligent men, who 
denominate it the adaptability of the Christian system. 
Exaggeration, which is the child of enthusiasm and cre- 
dulity, comes as natural to negroes as the breath of 
life ; and hence they claim full indulgence as concerns 
their spiritual affairs and experience ; nor do I see how 
they can well be restricted. Greater latitude is required, 
and must, of necessity, be allowed. 

But it is in the way of ghosts, and goblins, and phan- 
toms, that the Southern negroes find a full community of 
thought and belief. On this point not a dissenter is to 
be found; and I have discovered that the Gospel rather 
15 



170 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

tends to confirm and increase this amiable weakness 
than to suppress and eradicate it. This, too, is quite ex- 
plicable, as they hear much, in the Old Testament espe- 
cially, of ghosts and witches ; and being told that God is 
the same in all ages, and that he never changes, they can- 
not see why there should not be ghosts and witches in their 
day and time as well as in the days of Saul and Samuel. 
But their superstition does not end here. The howl of 
a dog, the note of a whippowil, the screech of the 
small swamp owl, inspire them at all times with awe and 
solemn forebodings of evil shortly to come ; and the ac- 
cidental, ticking noise of a little death-watch,* at their 
bed's head of a night, sounds in their ears like a funeral 
knell. The flight of birds after night, is regarded by 
them as a bad omen ; and the sudden appearance of a 
will-o'-the-wisp strikes them oftentimes with the most 
ludicrous terror. Taking advantage of this credulity, the 
Southern boys, in almost every family, are in the habit of 
amusingthemselves by playing many a mischievous prank 
on the simple creatures, although it sometimes happens 
that the tables are turned quite unexpectedly, for it is a 
matter of most serious belief even among the best and 
most intelligent slaves. I heard a distinguished gentle- 
man of Georgia, now no more, relate a very touching 
little incident which occurred with himself in this con- 
nection. His father owned a fine, honest, and trusty old 
fellow, whose religious sincerity was never called in 
question, and who was noted for the warmth of his at- 
tachment to both his master and mistress. Whilst the 
gentleman alluded to was yet very young, he had the 

* A species of small bug. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 171 

misfortune to lose his mother, and one dark night, not 
long after the sad event, he conceived a project of fright- 
ening his father's old servant, who was well known to 
believe in ghosts. So, wrapping himself in a long, flow- 
ing sheet, and disguising his features with a false-face 
made of white paper, he took the path to the cabin in 
which the negroes lived. Most of them had gone to 
their rest, but the old fellow himself was standing in 
a melancholy, reflective attitude, before the fire, which 
was now very nearly burnt down. Creeping noiselessly 
to the door, he suddenly presented himself, in his grave- 
like habiliments, before the astonished servant, who, as it 
happened, so far from betraying the least symptom of 
fright, burst into tears, and holding both hands implor- 
ingly towards the supposed spirit, exclaimed, in woeful 
accents, "Ah, there's my poor, dear mistress!" This was 
an efTect very far diflferent from what had been antici- 
pated, and being totally unprepared for so touching an 
appeal, and having thought of anything else than per- 
sonating his deceased parent, the tender-hearted youth 
threw off his disguise, asked the affectionate old negro's 
pardon, and mingled his own tears freely with those of 
his humble friend. 

The dialect of the negro is another and striking pecu- 
liarity of character, and one which often aflfords much 
amusement. But, at the same time, I have been much 
diverted to find our tale-tellers and novel-writers con- 
cocting a sort of disjointed, incongruous, unintelligible 
jargon for their negro characters, something more like 
the style of talk among any other people than our South- 
ern negroes. This might be naturally expected from 
Northern writers, who, some how, imagine that these 



172 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

people still converse in the broken language of the 
native African ; but it is astonishing that even gentlemen 
born and raised in their midst should have fallen into 
the same error. For instance, I have met with the fol- 
lowing in an old file of a certain Southern journal (now 
defunct), by a nameless author, though, it is to be pre- 
sumed, of Southern birth : — 

" Ky ole maussa! you gon fule me ater all! When 
young mass cummin een place ? I yerree-ee ride boss 
fur kill!" 

*' Ees maussa! obshaa, him say, cause me gon cut 
me medjure half inch too short — him no care a dam! — 
enty dat de cuss?" 

Now, it strikes me, with all due deference to this 
nameless and talented author, that either of the above 
sentences read out to one of our plantation negroes 
would be hardly less unintelligible to him than Choctaw 
or Congo. There are words, and tortured pronuncia- 
tions, and exclamations, which no Southern negro ever 
uses, and a raw African would scarcely make so bad an 
attempt, although they are taught to speak a tongue 
something like the above from just the same notion that 
causes parents to clothe infant thoughts with outlandish 
jargon. The savages in De Foe's story of Robinson 
Crusoe are made to talk in the same unnatural and dis- 
torted English, and hence, I suppose, the idea of giving 
to our negroes the language quoted above. Our most 
distinofuished Northern writers resort to the same fanciful 
vocabulary when they introduce the negro in their works 
of fiction. But it is wholly different from their modes of 
expression ; and these remarks being intended solely for 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 17$ 

explanation, I have ventured to use the above to illus- 
trate, by no means to criticize. 

That the negroes mispronounce and misuse words 
most ludicrously is very true ; but they rarely indulge 
the artless and perverted lingo so usually put in their 
mouths by the novel-writers. Their real and natural 
manner of talking and expressing their ideas is truly 
laughable, because of their attempts at pompous and pre- 
cise declamation, not from their distorted tone and unna- 
tural gibberish ; and this fact has been aptly turned to 
advantage by the strolling banjo players and Ethiopian 
singers, who so often divert their audiences with genuine 
specimens of the negro manner and dialect. 

The late Hon. William H. Crawford, so affectionately 
and proudly remembered by all Georgians, owned four 
native Africans, brought to this country among the last 
importations of those unfortunate wretches who could be 
sold within the time prescribed by the Federal Constitu- 
tion. Their names were quite remarkable, and formed 
a rude jingle when pronounced consecutively, not un- 
pleasant to be heard. They were called thus, " Capity, 
Saminy, Quominy, Quor." In the same neighborhood, 
there happened to be residing another native African, 
rather more Americanized than the first, and these five 
old fellows, especially as some of them bore on their 
faces the strange scars inflicted for some unknown dis- 
tinguishing purpose in their native country, were treated 
with marked respect by all the other negroes for miles 
and miles around. It was easy to detect, in this filial 
and superstitious reverence for genuine, unadulterated 
sons of their common native soil, the origin of that obe- 
dience to the supposed servants of Obi, and other Afri- 

15* 



174 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

can idols, which holds good at this day among the slaves 
and negroes in the West Indies and South America. 
Their illustrious owner himself always treated them 
with rather more kindness of manner and respect than 
his other slaves, and would never allow them to be sub- 
jected to the lash except in case of downright resistance 
to the authority of his overseer (and this w^as a fault 
with them occasionally), and even then with manifest 
reluctance, and only from imperative convictions of duty. 
Their habits and dispositions were as unlike those of our 
native negroes as it is possible to conceive, when it is 
considered that they are the same race. They had none 
of that merry-heartedness and vivacity which I have 
elsewhere pictured as a trait of our Southern negroes, 
and, though not decidedly morose, or fractious, they were 
yet exclusive, and somewhat unapproachable. They 
required far less whipping to coerce attention to their 
tasks; indeed, they worked with remarkable diligence, 
and it was only in case of a misunderstanding about 
some matter of business betwixt them and the overseer 
that they ever became refractory, or were brought under 
the lash. On the other hand, our Southern negroes 
rarely ever resist (though now and then they runaway 
when frightened by overseers freshly employed), but 
they are generally indolent and careless if they are al- 
lowed to think that whipping will not be resorted to. I 
never knew a native African to runaway from his mas- 
ter's plantation. They stand their ground doggedly, 
like the Roman or British soldier, regardless of conse- 
quences ; and to carry out the simile, they often fight 
with the same determined courage, unhappily for them ! 
I resided, when a boy, for several years in the family 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 175 

of a near relative whose estate joined that of Mr. Craw- 
ford, and was often a visitor at Woodlawn. With the 
simple curiosity of childhood, and being always fond of 
out-of-the-way gleanings, it was a favorite pastime with 
me, whilst my cousins and schoolmates were engaged 
with their usual diversions, to hunt up these old Africans, 
and gather their stories of their native clime. The most 
favorable time for this was on Sundays, when their coun- 
tryman and comrade, old Dick, who belonged to a dif- 
ferent plantation, would come over to spend the day with 
them. I have sat for whole hours of a summer day 
under the shade of a spreading oak, or by the cheerful 
fire of their rude and homely ingle-sides when in winter, 
and listened with intense delight to the history of the 
fierce wars which had raged between hostile princes in 
their native country, or to some dangerous and interesting 
personal adventure with wild animals of the desert or 
forest. The scene was rendered doubly interesting 
when a company of our native born negroes would 
chance to call in, for then their staring eyes, open 
mouths, and peculiarly respectful attitudes would always 
provoke my risible indulgences. Sometimes, on these 
occasions, the old Africans would become so completely 
absorbed in their own narratives, or so carried away by 
early grateful recollections, that they would involuntarily 
slide into the dialect, or rather I'mgo of their native country, 
and, totally forgetful of my ignorance, or that they were 
talking for my gratification, continue to jabber away for 
hours at a time. At the close of such conversations, as 
was always their way, they would rise, one after another, 
and walk silently off for some considerable distance ; 
though it was scarcely ever more than five or ten minutes 



176 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

before they reassembled. Old Dick, who had a wife in 
my uncle's negro family, and with whom, in conse- 
quence, I was much better acquainted than the rest, took 
especial pleasure in teaching me the African numerical 
count ; and as, notwithstanding that many tourists have 
gleaned that of the various Indian tribes of the country, 
it is most likely that no other person has felt sufficient 
interest to gather and recollect that of this proscribed 
and degraded race, I will here venture to write down for 
my reader's curiosity this chance-gathering of my early 
boyhood. Their count, which, like that of all the abori- 
ginal tribes with which I am acquainted, extends to the 
magic number often only, is as follows: "Kelleh, fullah, 
subah, nanni, lolo, waulo, oolulah, suggah, conontah, 
tah." I presume this is the first time that these words 
were ever written down, at least in a civilized or Chris- 
tian tongue, and this fact, if no other, may procure me 
the reader's pardon for their introduction. One cannot 
fail to perceive that the syllabic terminations, as well as 
the conformation of the words themselves, are wholly dif- 
ferent from those peculiar to the language of the Indian, 
or from any other savage lingo ; while there is a smooth- 
ness in the succession and flow of the numbers which 
might argue a faint poetic touch even with these bar- 
barous heathens. I cannot find that any Indian modes of 
counting run so smoothly together; they are rather uni- 
formly harsh and unharmonious. The curious reader 
will, perhaps, indulge an illustration of this, as the point 
of inquiry possesses certainly the rare merit of novelty, 
if not of utility. 

In the antiquated history of Virginia by the celebrated 
Capt. John Smith, of Pocahontas memory (more recently 
signalized and consigned to standard history by the clas- 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 177 

sic pen of Win. Gilraore Simms), we find the following 
authentic record of the count used by the Powhatan 
Indians, and which, as it had no connection with Smith's 
personal adventures, Mr. Simms does not append to his 
elegant and useful biography of the British hero. I se- 
lect this count because, unlike that of the African, and 
most Indian tribes too, I find it written and preserved; 
and I introduce it only to give my courteous reader a 
fair opportunity to compare the two. They stop also at 
ten, and theii* numbers are these : " Necut, ningle, nuss, 
yowgh, parauske, cummotinch, tuppawoss, nusswash, 
kekatawgh, kaskekee." Here are all the harshness and 
abruptness of the Indian mode of talking, with little or 
no pretension to smoothness and harmony of sound. 
The genius of Cooper, and the graphic sketches of that 
first of American writers, Washington Irving, have thrown 
around the Indian character a halo of romantic and po- 
etic interest which no other savage race has been fortu- 
nate enough to elicit. The characters and scenes of 
their works, however, belong to a past age ; and a cen- 
tury of contact with the white man has either totally 
changed and corrupted the Indian nature, or else the 
genius and imagination of these fathers of our literature 
have been sufTered to ramble with that unrestricted liberty 
which Horace, in his '' ArsPoetica," emphatically claims 
for poets and painters. The Indians of our day, besides 
having a full share of all the lower and degrading vices 
of the Southern negro, such as stealing, lying, and filthy 
tastes, are noted for cowardice, and craft, and meanness 
of every description. They possess not, so far as my 
observation and experience go, a single admirable vir- 
tue, or magnanimous or noble quality of heart or mind. 



178 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

The Southern slave, much more the native, free-born Af- 
rican, is his superior in every sense of the word ; and 
although slaves for life, and begetting slaves, I do not 
know a negro that would countenance an exchange of 
situations with a Choctaw or Chickasaw Indian. As a 
general thing, these are hardly above the animals. 

I take the liberty of reminding my reader of these 
facts, because it may appear, at first sight, somewhat 
hazardous to attempt throwing any interest of a romantic 
character over the despised sons of Libya. Who knows, 
however, that the banks of the Gambia, the Senegal, 
the Niger, and the wilds of Nigritia, and the luck- 
less regions of Congo and Guinea, might not afford, if 
called with a view to storied interest, more than mere 
shadowy foundations for romance ! Suppose we picture 
to ourselves a rude but cheerful-looking hut beneath the 
fierce sun and the cloudless sky of ill-fated Guinea, 
filled with a happy family, and surrounded with the simple 
and rude embellishments of native taste. The father has 
gone in the forest to hunt the lion ; the mother is absent 
on some domestic errand. They have left their little 
children to the care only of an elder daughter, and per- 
haps she, unsuspicious and confiding creature, has avail- 
ed herself of this temporary absence of her watchful 
parents to admit some dark-skinned but devoted lover to 
her embraces in this green-sheltered cot. Dreaming not 
of danger, but absorbed with the glowing fervor and 
kindling emotions of those tender passions which, gath- 
ering in that burning realm tenfold intensity, and un- 
bridled by the cold and withering formalities of less 
exciting climes, disdain the trammels of refined society, 
these beings of Nature's mould abandon themselves to 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 179 

all the delights of such a scene. But the spoiler has 
been watching his prey and patiently abiding his time ; 
the opportunity for his accursed work is at hand ; a 
slave-dealer rushes suddenly upon them to convert their 
love-dreams into an earthly hell ; they are seized and 
ruthlessly fettered ; the scourge is applied ; they yield to 
fate, and, with breaking hearts, breathe an eternal adieu to 
happy homes and loved scenes. Then the waste around 
rings with a piercing scream ; the mother has come in 
time to behold the fate of her children ; she rushes 
forward with frantic gait, and, with well-timed humanity^ 
the ravagers stop to receive her as an accession to their 
profitable day's work ! At night, the father returns to 
find his home desolate and abandoned, and his happiness 
fled forever. The caress of his wife, the smiles of his 
children, will welcome him no more. Whose is the heart 
that sickens not at the sad recital ? Whose the mind 
that revolts not when contemplating tjje awful picture ? 
Humanity weeps at the reflection, and civilization shrinks ; 
religion hangs its head in shame and confusion ! Yet it 
is not uncommon to find traditions of this character 
preserved in the families of the African descendants. I 
have seen lusty-looking, cheerful-hearted fellows toiling 
with zeal and alacrity at their daily tasks, who would 
laughingly boast that the blood of royalty flowed through 
their veins, and there was no doubt of the fact. The 
negro is degraded and enslaved ; else romance, startling, 
thrilling, and soul-reaching, might be gathered from 
sources like these. 

They who now find their chief delight in fulminating 
anathemas and maledictions against the friends of domes- 
tic slavery should bear in mind, as honorable testimony 



180 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

in our favor, that the grand original sin belongs, and 
must be visited, elsewhere. The South demurs to all 
responsibility, and her escutcheon is stainless on this 
point. The most zealous and efficient opponents of the 
abominable and unchristian traffic have been found in the 
South. Indeed, it is a fact as creditable as it is indis- 
putable that slave-dealing ships have been rarely fitted 
out from a Southern port, and never manned by a South- 
ern crew. But I must check a pen which wanders to an 
unwitting, and perhaps unwelcome, digression. 

Another and most anomalous trait in the character of 
Southern negroes is that, whilst utterly impervious to all 
keen sense of moral restraint and obligation in their 
habits and intercourse, they are not sensible of any con- 
sequent debasement. They lie, and steal, and com- 
mingle indiscriminately, and without feeling that they 
violate any divine or moral law, or lose any considerable 
ground in the estimation of their owners. After they 
have answered for the offence, when detected and 
convicted, they consider full expiation to have been 
made, and, claiming alike forgetfulness and forgiveness, 
return to the midst of their fellows none the more 
depressed because of the crime. The fear of punish- 
ment alone restrains them in such cases, and the only 
mortification they experience is the consciousness of 
being at loggerheads with their master or overseer. For 
these crimes among slaves our statutes call for no judi- 
cial interference, and affix no penalty for their commis- 
sion, except when burglary or highway robbery is 
alleged in conjunction with the other offences. In this 
case, the law throws around them the same generous 
protection which is yielded to the white man. All capi- 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 181 

tal offences are answerable by the slave to the same 
tribunal and in the same way as any other person. Of 
course, though, a slave cannot be held in law as capable 
of committing either adultery or cmn. con.; and we have 
the very high authority of Judge Harper that the mere 
theft of a slave is no offence against society, and is 
almost undefinable. 

This laxity of morals among Southern slaves results 
as well from their negro temperament as from their 
state of bondage. But it is not confined to Southern 
slaves. In other countries, where the curse (as it is 
called) of slavery does not exist, the records of -crime 
are tenfold more numerous. Very rarely is it that our 
courts are ever called to take cognizance of petty larce- 
nies, when compared with the records of those in the 
free States of the North, or in Europe ; whereas, in the 
case of virtue among females, no country under the sun 
is so blessed as the South. The existence of a class 
of females who set little value on chastity, and afford 
easy gratification to the licentious desires of men who 
belong to a higher caste, in addition to the absence 
of all temptation, accounts for this unparalleled purity 
and abstinence among the lower classes of Southern 
females. As regards our higher and polished circles, I 
have yet to see or hear the first insinuation thrown out 
or the first charge brought. Their pre-eminence is con- 
ceded. 

I have heard the story of a young milliner lady who 
happened to employ, on the same day, two assistant 
females — one a white girl freshly arrived, and the other 
a mulatto negress. Two weeks had not passed before 
it was discovered that the first was a regular courtezan, 
16 



182 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

who received every night visits from her favored galhmts. 
At the same time, it was equally well known that the 
slave girl placed little or no restraint on her amorous 
inclinations, as she was already the mother of offspring 
whose paternity could not easily have been determined. 
The former was at once paid off and peremptorily dis- 
charged. In vain she endeavored to extenuate her own 
by instancing the exceptionable conduct of the negress, 
who was still to be retained. The case was widely 
different. One had character to lose, and deprecated 
detection ; she knew the direful punishment with which 
society visited her crime, and this very knowledge ren- 
dered her an unfit companion for respectable females of 
her own class and complexion. The other belonged to 
a degraded class — degraded in the eyes of the whole 
world, and consequently was never possessed of charac- 
ter, as defined strictly ; she cared nothing about detec- 
tion, and felt conscious less of crime than of a natural 
and constitutional weakness ; she was far less contami- 
nated and depraved in every sense ; her offspring was 
not a reproach or burden to society ; and she had done 
no great injury to herself or to any other human being. 
This may seem anomalous, but, as Judge Harper 
remarks, it is a distinction habitually made, and is 
founded on the unerring instinct of nature. There are 
some instances, however (far more than infuriated op- 
ponents' of the South generally imagine), where slaves 
preserve a perfectly virtuous conduct and practice a 
rigid morality. Choosing, however, in portraying faith- 
fully the traits of negro character (if I may use the last 
term in this connection), rather to admit candidly and 
fully, than attempt to palliate or defend the evil, I must 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 183 

reaffirm what I have elsewhere declared, viz., that the 
Southern negroes, as a class or body, are utterly desti- 
tute of moral perception and obedience, and that such 
is inseparable from a state of absolute slavery. 

I believe that it would be impolitic and unsafe to attempt 
any extended or liberal reformation of this evil. Educa- 
tion is the only remedy, and this with slaves is wholly 
out of the question. They have the Gospel preached to 
them — missionaries (not incendiaries) have free access 
to their quarters, and receive compensation from the 
owners ; they are excluded from no church or place of 
divine worship which is frequented by the whites. But 
this does not by any means reach the evil, and beyond 
making them more social and contented,! am unable, as 
yet, to see that any great good results. The institution 
is strictly a political one. I find that its advocates (with 
rare exceptions) will maintain fully their rights on this 
ground. As to its morality, I do not consider the ques- 
tion to be open. It has been closed by the acts of the 
civilized world. If it be a sin or moral wrong, it cannot be 
rebuked except by stainless hands. The abolitionist and 
slavery propagandist — Old as well as New England — 
Europe as well as America — have all participated in the 
guilt ; and, inasmuch as it has now become a thoroughly 
domestic institution, their descendants should not quarrel 
about its right. An evil which necessity alone governs 
must work its own cure, and it must disappear from the 
South, if it disaj)pear at all, just as it disappeared from 
the North — by the inevitable laws of population, and the 
grasping enterprise of a more enlightened race. 

This is a sketch, and not an argument. The candid 
reader will perceive that I have (even in digressions 



184 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

which could not well have been left out) touched the 
subject more as a Rambler than an essayist. I have 
written just as I thought, with no desire to promulgate my 
opinions as authority, or as an index to those generally 
entertained in my native sunny clime. Whatever may 
be my biases as a Southron, or my views of the naked 
question in dispute betvi^een sections of this Union, I 
have abstained studiously from all allusion to them in 
this place« 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 185 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE BRIDE OF L I C K -T H E- S K I L L E T . 

The south-eastern corner of N e county, in Mis- 
sissippi, is a broken and rugged country, generally poor 
and unproductive, and peopled by a plain, honest, 
straightforward sort of folks, who glory more in the 
simple abundance by which they are surrounded than 
in any pretensions to high and stylish living. In the 
midst of this wild and mountainous region, on the head 
waters of Running Water Creek, which, flowing for some 
distance through a succession of hills and vales, strikes 
at last a fruitful land, and empties itself into the princi- 
pal stream which divides the county — and in a narrow 
gorge or dell, between two high mountains, dwelt an 
honest plain old gentleman who was known as Mr. Peter 
Pomroy. The situation was isolated and remarkably 
picturesque, combining the quiet prospect of winding 
valleys, watered by rivulets of the greenest hue from 
the reflection of the various trees above and around, and 
the more grand and inspiring spectacle of mountains 
crowned with verdant shrubbery, from whose lofty sum- 
mits might be seen nearly the entire plain of the up- 
per Bigbee. The dwelling was constructed of hewed 
logs, like that of all his neighbors (except that his own 
was rather more comfortable) ; and, without claiming the 
least pretension even to moderate wealth, Mr. Pomroy 

16* 



186 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

was yet independent in his circumstances, hospitable 
and open-hearted in his way of living, and, as the saying 
is, well to do in the world every way. The farmers of 
the country around were not generally so blessed ; they 
were poor and sometimes de[)endent — genuine country 
bumpkins in their manners and customs, careless in dress, 
rough in appearance, and, though eminently harmless 
and good natured, yet extremely rude and uncouth in 
their intercourse with strangers, or with one another. 
From these facts, as I infer, the name of Lick-the-skillet 
was given to their district ; and, whether bestowed in 
derision or waggishness, as it comported with their ways 
and views to the very notch, it was readily accepted by 
the citizens, and the district became so designated 
throughout all the county. So much, then, for names! 

At the distance of a few paces only from his humble 
dwelling, stood Mr. Pomroy's saw and grist-mill, a low 
one-story building, on the edge of a steep dam formed 
of trunks of trees and large rocks, over which the water 
roared and dashed like a cataract, filling the woods 
around with a continuous sound not unpleasant to the 
ear on a still summer evening, and gently relieving the 
sombre silence of the scene. The building was the 
only framed tenement in the country, and had been erect- 
ed several years before by an enterprising old Dutch- 
man, who doubtless would have made his fortune at saw- 
ing and grinding for the people of Lick-the-skillet, if 
death had not called for him, and removed him from the 
scene of his earthly labors, about a year after he had 
finished his mill. It now looked quite craggy and anti- 
quated, and was covered over with a sort of darkish-gray 
furze, which gave it an aspect of venerable age. As 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 187 

Mynheer Von Tromp had died before paying the present 
owner either for the land or site, or for some two years' 
bed and board, it fell out, of consequence, that Mr. Peter 
Poraroy claimed the whole effects of the Dutchman's in- 
genuity and labor as his own ; and, as there was none to 
dispute either the right or justice of the proceeding, it 
was whispered that the old architect's death had been, 
as the neighbors said, a perfect windfall and God-send 
for his lucky creditor. At all events, it w^as very well 
known that the old gentleman had nearly doubled his 
means since he had been undisputed owner of the 
mill ; and, as the said mill is destined to become quite 
prominent in the development of this legend, it is thought 
that a more detailed description of its luckless constructor, 
and of its own appearance and situation, may be quite 
necessary. 

The old millwright was a stout, chubby, round-bellied 
Dutchman of the genuine faderland stamp, with a face 
like the full moon, and eyes so small and smothered up 
in fat that it was a wonder with many how he managed 
to squeeze enough sight through this barricade of flesh 
and blood to carry on his work in a manner so neat and 
expeditious. He was remarkably industrious and cheer- 
ful, sang some old snatch of a German air all the time 
he labored, though it was seldom he entered into or en- 
couraged lengthened conversation with his numerous 
and inquisitive visitors. This may have proceeded and 
doubtless did proceed from two of the very best of causes, 
viz., he was too frugal and industrious to waste his time 
in idle talk, and, what was more, he spoke the English 
language very imperfectly and unintelligibly. The old 
fellow was wholly absorbed with his plan of turning his 



188- MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

lime and labor to thrifty account, worked incessantly 
from sunrise until sunset, never left home during the 
whole two years that he lived with Mr. Pomroy, except 
on Sundays, when, instead of going to meeting, he in- 
variably hunted game all day. This gave very consider- 
able offence to the hard-shell people of Lick-the-sldllet, 
many of whom boldly predicted that he could never 
come to any good or Christian end. Now, whether 
this sage and charitable prophecy contributed at all to- 
wards inducing the melancholy and strange accident 
which, in the end, brought about the death of Mynheer 
Von Tromp, it does not avail me to say; but certain it is 
that it came literally to pass as to the first part, for he 
surely came to a very bad, though I feel no authority to 
characterize it as an unchristian, end. 

During the time that the mynheer resided in Lick-the- 
skillet, he showed no especial favor or liking to any per- 
sons except the pretty little daughter of his worthy host, 
and a wild, harum-scarum, rumpusing blade who set 
up for being a doctor, though more akin, as many said, 
to old Nick than to Galen, and who was known through 
the neighborhood by the familiar name of Hop Hubbub. 
For these two, the old Dutchman always had a kind word 
and a merry welcome ; and Hop and he were wont 
to smoke many a pipe together in the mill-house, and 
revel of winter nights over many a steaming and savory 
whisky stew, for both loved a cup over-well for their 
good. After the mill-house was covered over, old Von 
Tromp, with true Dutch providence, fitted off a nice little 
room at one of the corners, separated from the main room 
by a substantial sealed and weather-boarded partition, built 
a genuine broad and capacious Dutch chimney on one side 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 189 

of it, and made Ihe same his sleeping apartment. Here 
it was that he received and entertained Hop, and being 
too far away to disturb the quiet of Mr. Pomroy's house- 
hold, they would spend whole nights singing and drink- 
ing, never seeming to care a groat about sleep; for, at 
the first dawn of light, the clatter of the mill was heard 
always to break the stillness of the early morning, whilst 
Hop, at the same time, would mount his steed and 
scamper off at a reckless gait towards the village in which 
he dwelt. 

Things went on in this way, as I have said, for nearly 
a twelvemonth, when, one morning in the Christmas 
holidays, the family waked and dressed without hearing 
any stir or noise at the mill-house, and when breakfast 
came in, old Von Tromp was not at his accustomed place. 
As he was famous for the most rigid regularity and prompt- 
ness, these two circumstances gave Mr. Pomroy and his 
family some considerable uneasiness, and the worthy 
gentleman had scarce swallowed more than half of his 
usual allowance before he took his hat and cane, and 
hurried off to find what was the matter with his friend 
and boarder. Arriving at the mill, he found the door of 
the honest Dutchman's little apartment wide open, the 
bed tumbled and pressed as though its occupant had 
passed the night as usual ; but no sign of clothes or of 
old Von Tromp was to be seen anywhere about. This 
seriously alarmed him, and the worthy host began to re- 
trace his steps homeward, with a view to procure aid and 
institute a more extended search. He had reached the 
doorway, and was in the act of stepping forth, when his 
eye fell accidentally upon a dark-looking object under- 
neath the mill, just at the foot of the race. This sug- 



190 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

gested an alarming idea. Immediately above, a cavity- 
had been left in the floor, of a size fully suflicient for a 
large man to fall through, which Hans Von Trorap had 
arranged on purpose that he might always witness the 
first dash of the waters as they rushed from the gap 
against the fly-wheel, and set his darling machinery in 
motion. No one knew better than Mr. Pomroy that the 
honest Dutchman had his mood of melancholy, or the 
blues, especially when deep in his cups ; and as Hans 
had indulged more freely than usual in egg-nog and 
whisky stews the night before, Mr. Pomroy felt a most awful 
conviction run through his brain. He descended, and 
found the dark object to be what he had already antici- 
pated, the familiar broad-brimmed hat of the hapless Von 
Tromp. Where now was the owner? Had he drowned 
himself? These were solemn questions, and the worthy 
host sadly misgave their answers. He returned, and sum- 
moned two negro fellows belonging to his farm. "With 
these he dragged the race, and in the course of fifteen 
minutes they drew forth the portly carcass of the old 
millwright. The neighbors were called together, and 
among them came Hop Hubbub, the only intimate com- 
panion of the deceased. Hop was a sadly wicked fel- 
low, and not a little humorous withal ; and when he cast 
his roguish eyes upon the swelled and distorted form of 
his ancient comrade, so far from showing the least tear- 
ful symptom of sorrow, the bystanders were taken all 
aback to see him curl his lips into a singular sort of 
smile, peculiar to himself, expressive alike of droll mirth 
and lurking mischief. Tumbling the body to and fro, 
pressing the abdomen and bowels, so as to make the 
water inside roar and ffurefle in a manner the most shock- 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 191 

ing, even to the hardened nerves of the rough sons of 
Lick-the-skillet, he gave, as his settled opinion, that the 
lierce old trout (as he called Hans always) had mustered 
up an extraordinary supply of Dutch courage, whilst 

drunk the night before, had doubtless raised the d 1 

in person (which he solemnly averred every German 
could do when he chose, as they all dealt in the infernal 
sciences), rashly challenged him to a wrestling match, 
and that Old Nick had gone ofT conqueror. In proof of 
these wise conclusions, Hop pointed mysteriously to a 
blackened appearance about the throat of the deceased, 
shook his head ruefully, and, having suddenly exchanged 
his smile for a look the most portentous and knowing, 
succeeded in impressing his opinion on the minds of his 
simple and credulous hearers. The next thing was to 
bury the dead, and here again Hop interfered. He de- 
clared that he had often heard the old Dutchman say, in 
his lifetime, that, in case he died whilst at Lick-the- 
skillet, ij; was his ardent desire to be interred under his 
mill-house ; and as the Old Boy had now carried him off 
before his time, he proposed that the body should be de- 
posited in a shallow grave at the foot of the race, where 
its hapless soul had been wrested from it, so that, in case 
Hans should ever get a little respite from his burning 
resting-place below, he might easily find the way back 
to his favorite earthly haunts. Hop's opinion was gospel 
authority on all incidental matters at Lick-the-skillet, and 
as there was no good reason to the contrary, his sug- 
gestions were promptly adopted ; and honest Hans Von 
Tromp was decently buried on the spot where he had 
yielded up his life, and where his grave might be forever 
freshened by the spray of that waterfall whose roar had 



192 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

been to him the most delightful sound on earth. His 
little female favorite reverently cherished the memory of 
that friendly interest and regard which Hans had ever 
showed for her during life ; and now that he was gone, 
she visited his grave, over which she strewed the violet 
and wild rose, to mingle with the moss and grass which 
carpeted its mound. 

Years followed after years, and rolled away, and, in 
the mean time, whilst Mr. Pomroy was moulding the dol- 
lars by old Hans Von Tromp's mill, his daughter Sophro- 
nia, or Sophie, as she was called by the neighbors, had 
shot up into a nice, buxom, blooming girl of seventeen. 
Confined mostly to her native shaded vale, and fanned 
only by the cool mountain breeze, her complexion^was 
fairer than the lily, and her cheeks as red as the roses 
which blushed from amidst her mother's rude, but taste- 
ful trellis-work. She was a wild, wilful romp of a piece, 
and threaded the winding dells, or scaled the steep 
mountain crags like any lusty-legged ploughboyor dare- 
devil huntsman. There was no controlling her inclina- 
tions. She fished whenever or wherever she pleased, and 
with anybody, male or female, just as she chose ; and 
it took a strong arm and stout lungs to beat her in a 
swimming-race up or down the mill-pond. Such were 
her primitive habits and artless demeanor that she never 
refused to enter into a contest of this sort W'ith any beau 
or rustic suitor who might be paying his court at the 
shrine of her beauty; only she annexed, as an inviolable 
stipulation, that her competitor should lie concealed and 
blindfolded until she had covered her charms beneath the 
surface of the green waves around, and maintain a re- 
spectful distance during the race. To violate either of 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 193 

these was to incur Sophie's lasting displeasure, and the 
prompt dismissal of the offending party. But, unlike the 
racing damsel mentioned in classic history, she exacted 
no penalty in case of defeat, and promised no reward to 
her successful competitor beyond a simple acknowledg- 
ment on her part of his superior prowess. In all these 
wanton sports and wanderings, Sophie was more often 
accompanied by Dr. Hop Hubbub than anyone else, and 
it was generally whispered, in consequence, that he was 
to become finally lord of that beauty and those charms 
which ran half the young sparks in Lick-the-skillet 
almost distracted whenever they successively engaged 
with her in the diversion of swimming or muscadine 
hunting. Whenever she lifted her petticoats to keep 
from wetting them whilst wading through some shallow 
mountain brook, in her rambling excursions, she generally 
gave Hop the preference in carrying over her shoes and 
stockings, and would only playfully slap at him when he 
attempted to snatch a kiss from her coral lips, or ven- 
tured a sly caress of her plump but soft form. But it 
was dangerous for another gentleman to hazard a like 
experiment, for Sophie never hesitated to use her fishing- 
pole or riding-switch vigorously and effectively, when 
occasion required. In the merry country reel or exciting 
jig, in jumping the grape-vine, or playing at prisoner's 
base of moonlight nights. Hop was always her favorite 
partner ; and whether these manifest and continual pre- 
ferences for him proceeded from their mutual recollections 
of friendship with the honest-hearted old Dutchman, or 
from a softer and more tender feeling, so it was any way; 
and most of the other sighing swains called off their dogs, 
17 



194 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

to use Lick-the-skillet parlance, and quit the chase in 
utter despair of ever being in at the death. 

But the crisis of Sophie's rustic life was approaching. 
In the neighborhood of her father's dwelling, lived a sin- 
gular old bachelor, snug in his means, thrifty and parsi- 
monious in habit, exclusive and retiring in manner, satis- 
fied with himself, and envying nobody. Notwithstanding 
these habits of life and peculiarities of temperament, 
so entirely different from his own. Hop Hubbub had 
caught the blind side of this singular gentleman, and 
they were regular cronies and comrades. In fact, Cap- 
tain Lafayette Mantooth had succeeded fully old Hans 
Von Tromp in Hop's friendship. It was owing entirely 
to the latter's influence and popularity that the captain 
had succeeded in being elected over all other candidates 
to the command of Lick-the-skillet beat company of 
militia ; and, on parade days, he would appear on the 
field in an old suit of threadbare regimentals, which had 
belonged to the old corporal, his grandfather, in the war 
of Independence, with a rusty epaulette stuck on his right 
shoulder, and an immense dragoon sword swinging at 
his side. Being at least a foot taller than his worthy 
ancestor, the captain found it necessary to use straps to 
keep his breeches down, as well as suspenders to keep 
them up, and, for this purpose, his friend Hubbub had 
furnished him with a couple of red morocco strings, 
which met the hem of his pants just at the top of his 
boots ; whilst the same friendly hand had surmounted 
the captain's military hat with a bunch of feathers gath- 
ered from a cock's tail, and ingeniously tied around a 
limber whalebone, torn from some cast-away umbrella. 
Imagine these military appliances attached to a tall, 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 195 

gangling, long-limbed, water-jointed figure of a man, Avith 
long bushy red hair and broad projecting teeth, which it 
was his habit now and then to gnash fiercely and with 
an air of ludicrous gravity, and you will have a perfect 
picture of Captain Mantooth, or, as he himself gloried in 
being called, Captain Marcus Lafeart Mantooth. The 
captain was pertinacious about this first member, and 
was particularly waspish when corrected either as to 
that or to the pronunciation of the second part of his be- 
loved name. His grandfather and father had called him 
thus — the first ought to know, he contended, as he had 
been under Lafayette — and, so fondly did he cherish 
these hereditary and ancestral precedents that he actu- 
ally turned against and helped to defeat a sparkish, 
school-learned young candidate for the legislature, of his 
own political party, because he had innocently suggested 
that the captain had perverted the title of the French 
Marquis into a Roman name. Now, all of a sudden, it 
was discovered that the captain's usual quiet of life and 
equanimity were broken in upon by the ravages of that 
glowing and exciting passion which so often disturbs the 
peace of mind of better and wiser men than our captain, 
and as often changes the whole tenor and habits of life. 
Captain Mantooth was sorely smitten with love, and his 
heart ached and thumped whenever he thought of sweet 
Sophie Pomroy. Not a day-dream floated through his 
mind but Sojihie was the lovely spirit who prompted 
it; and, at night, he was often heard to glibber and snort 
while fast asleep, and seen to clasp his long arms con- 
vulsively around an extra pillow, as some tempting vision 
lured him into the joyous belief that the lovely damsel was 
in his embraces. How this came about, together with all 



196 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

the concomitant circumstances, leaked out in the catas- 
trophe, and it devolves on me now to relate. 

It was the custom of Captain Mantooth to carry his 
own grain to the mill, and at such times he generally 
went by a path which crossed the stream a short dis- 
tance below the dam, and which was rarely ever travel- 
ed by any one but himself. It was a shady, secluded 
spot, overhung by intertwining branches, and sheltered 
all day long from the rays of the sun. The stream spread 
out into a wide, shallow current, dashing swiftly and 
noisily over the ledge of rocks which stretched from bank 
to bank, bubbling with innumerable bright ripples, and 
dotted here and there, at irregular intervals across, with 
clusters of green shrubs, which rendered the scene one 
of almost Arcadian beauty. What wonder, then, that the 
lovely Sophronia, so fond of such primitive indulgences, 
should often seek this romantic spot, and, deeming her- 
self safe from prying eyes and unpleasant intrusions, 
reveal her charms " unadorned" to the mute objects 
around, and lave her voluptuous figure in the limpid 
element which flowed so temptingly along ! 

Now it happened that our friend Captain Mantooth 
took it into his head to visit the mill just at the same 
hour, one warm summer day, that the miller's daughter 
took it into her head to go a bathing at the secluded ford. 
As the captain had his regular days for such visits, the 
charming little water-nymph was totally unsuspicious, 
perhaps, of any intention on his part to make an out-of- 
the-way call at her father's mill. However, she had 
scarcely disrobed her graceful proportions, on the pre- 
sent occasion, and was seated in an attitude the most 
inviting and distracting in the world, on a moss-clad 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 197 

rock, about midway the current, preparing to take the 
water, when our friend, the captain, mounted on his 
favorite pony, and astride his bag of wheat, rode sud- 
denly and slowly up on the opposite bank. The bub- 
bling waters prevented Sophie from catching any other 
sound, and she sat as if totally unconscious that mortal 
eye was feasting on those charms of person which might 
have tempted imperial Jove himself; whilst the astonish- 
ed captain, dumb-stricken and fairly bewitched, let fall 
his long arms, locked his feet under his pony's belly, 
drew up his glowering eyes, opened wide. his ivory- 
fenced mouth, and stared at the rapturous vision so long 
and so delightedly that a cold shiver shook every limb of 
his lean, lank frame, causing a rattle of dry bones much 
more definable than that which stirred up the skeletons 
of old in the vale of Jehoshaphat. The pony w^ent 
quietly to cropping the herbage on the roadside. 

Hitherto the captain had been afforded only a side 
view, a full-length profile of the unclad damsel ; but 
scarcely had the pony bent his head to enjoy the pasture 
which tempted him, when, as if tired with one position, 
Sophie began to face about slowly ; a sunbeam, penetrat- 
ing a chance opening in the thick foliage, lighted up 
with lustrous and dazzling transparency a neck and 
bust which Venus might well have envied ; and then the 
whole gorgeous array of beauties, indescribable, unim- 
aginable, burst upon the enraptured vision of the captain, 
who, with a noise more like the groan of anguish than 
the sigh of excited love, fell back upon his pony's rump, 
relaxed and motionless. Never before had woman cross- 
ed his path ; never had mortal eyes been feasted to the 

17* 



198 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

full before with a picture which art vainly endeavored to 
portray ! 

No wonder Captain Mantooth was overpowered ! No 
wonder that the blood now hissed and foamed through 
his veins with a fervor that kindled in his usually lan- 
guid bosom new, and strange, and delightful emotions ! 
He arose from that posture of prostration an altered 
man. He looked again with eager and glowing eyes ; 
but the vision had departed ; the lovely damsel no longer 
appeared in sight ; a current of blood roared fiercely 
through his brain and blinded him for an instant, and 
then all seemed as if he had been in a delightful dream. 

But Captain Mantooth never forgot that dream ! It 
had assailed his senses with a reality too overpowering, 
and opened a train of emotions far too strong for that ; 
and he resolved to devote the balance of his life to the 
single object of gaining possession of those charms and 
their fair owner. 

Accordingly, the sun was just beginning to sink away 
over the lofty mountain top on the west, when who 
should be seen riding up to the gate, in a shambling 
trot, his long legs dangling about his pony's flanks, and 
his arms propped akimbo on either side, but the veritable 
captain of Lick-the-Skillet beat. And who, alighting 
without ceremony or invitation, w^alked into the house of 
the honest old miller, and inquired for Miss Sophie in 
person, as he was received by Mrs. Poraroy ? Sophie, 
industrious and smart girl that she was, was at her loom, 
and Captain Mantooth was asked into the weaving-room. 
As he entered, the captain encountered another familiar 
face besides that of Miss Pomroy. Hop Hubbub was 
there, seated on a high warping-stool by the damsel's 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 199 

side, and a look the most meaning dwelt on his features. 
The namesake of the great marquis was startled and 
not a little floundered ; for he would sooner have fought 
a battle at the head of his Lick-the-skillet chivalry any 
day than suffered Hop to get a laugh on him. How- 
ever, as there was no mending the matter now, the 
worthy captain stuffed away the dingy ruffles with which 
he had hoped to captivate the miller's daughter, slipped 
off nimbly a brass ring which he had put on his right 
forefinger by way of additional ornament, cleared his 
throat with a lusty exertion of lungs which jarred the 
floor under him, and then, catching a skirt of his long- 
tail Sunday coat across each crotch of his elbow, took 
his seat on another stool opposite to Hop's, first blowing 
away any dust which might have gathered on it, and 
running his hand over the whole seat to make sure of a 
clean sweep. A mischievous, though almost impercep- 
tible, smile lurked on the mouth of the pretty weaver, 
and she turned her eyes on Hop, now and then, with a 
glance that plainly betrayed her strong inclination to 
mirth, and that carried sad misgivings and uneasy 
thoughts to the breast of Captain Lafayette Mantooth. 
He had come to declare his passion and to woo its fair 
object ; but the signs were against him, and his love 
seemed likely to be lavished where it would meet with 
no requital. Poor Lafayette sighed deeply and involun- 
tarily, and Hop contracted the muscles of his face still 
more drolly, and Sophie laughed outright. Neither of 
the three had yet spoken or made any attempt to speak. 
Hop sat grave as a judge, and the captain stared at 
Sophie with open mouth and eye singularly dilated ; and 
Sophie herself kept busily at work with her slaie and 



200 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

treddles. At last, Hop fell, or at least pretended to fall, 
fast asleep, reclining his head against the wall of the 
room near which he sat. The captain drew in his breath 
with a half rattle through the nostrils as the air passed 
on to the lungs, ventured to display about a third part of 
his ruffles, and advanced one leg at full length. Hop 
snored slightly, when on went the brass ring again, and 
the suitor laid his hand tremblingly on a corner of the 
loom, at the same time throwing out the other leg, as if 
to draw the damsel's eye upon his fair proportions of 
bone and muscle, for of flesh the captain could not lay 
claim to five pounds from head to foot, through his full 
stretch of six feet and a half of manhood.^ Now, he 
thought, was his opportunity to begin a conversation, 
and he drew up his mouth as the first necessary step 
towards preparation. 

" You was in a-washing at my ford yesterday, weren't 
you, Sophie ?" he asked in a low tone, blearing his eyes, 
and leering most hideously at his fair innamorata. 

*' In a-washing at your ford !" repeated Sophie, inter- 
rogatively, and turning her face full upon her questioner. 
" How do you know whether I was or not, Captain 
Mantooth?" 

" Oh ! I didn't say I knowed, did I, Sophie?" returned 
the suitor, throwing his eyes up and down alternately. 

"What did you mean, then. Captain Mantooth?" 
asked the maiden, with increased emphasis. " What 
can you mean ?" 

" Nothing — nothing, Sophie," replied Lafayette, fear- 
ing he had made a wrong step ; "I jist thought I'd ask 
you — was you, Sophie ?" 

" Upon my word, Captain Mantooth, you are a strange 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 201 

sort of creature — very strange !" said Sophie, striving 
hard to maintain her gravity of demeanor. " One might 
have thought that you saw me from the way you talk." 

At this, the captain darted bolt upright from his stool 
with a bound that a person might make who had been 
jarred by an electric shock. The whole enchanting 
scene was again before him, and the blood began to burn 
in his veins and mantle on his cheeks. But, in the 
midst of this ecstasy of feeling, Hop indulged another 
snore somewhat louder than the first, and the captain 
eased himself on the seat again, thoroughly cooled 
down by this nasal effort of his dreaded friend. 

" Sophie, what if I had seed you ?" asked Lafayette, 
after he had again composed himself. 

" Well, and suppose you had, captain, sure enough, 
captain," returned Sophie, whilst a smile curled the 
corner of her mouth next to Hop, " you would only 
have seen " 

" What, Sophie ?" ejaculated the excited Lafayette, 
again half rising, and clapping both hands in his pock- 
ets. 

"Really, Captain Mantooth, I don't know what's got 
into you this evening," answered the maiden, coloring 
slightly. 

" It didn't get into me this evening, Sophie," said 
the captain, with a look half mournful ; " it got into me 
yesterday, about noon, and for the first time in my life, 
too." 

" What ?" asked Sophie, now in her turn fairly 
launched into a mischievous inclination, " lohat got 
into you, captain ?" 

" I don't know what to call it, Sophie," answered 



202 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

Lafayette, in the same tone of voice, " but it's the sin- 
gularest feeling that ever I had in the whole course of 
my life." 

"How, in the world's name, does it make you feel, 
then ?" again asked Sophie, stealing a roguish glance 
towards Hop, who was still nodding and dipping his 
head from side to side. 

" Every which way — a sort o' all-overish — but the 
best in the whole world at times, Sophie !" answered 
the captain, with a leer which was intended to convey 
what he yet scarcely dared to say. 

"Why really, captain, I shall begin to think present- 
ly that you are in love," said the lady, with a coquettish 
toss of the head. 

" Is that the way love serves a body, Sophie?" asked 
Lafayette, with a snuffling simper, as he drew a little 
nearer. 

" You'll have to ask them that's felt it," replied 
Sophie, with an arch, insinuating smile. "But, there! 
you've made me drop my shuttle with your silly talk- 
ino-'" 

The instrument alluded to had only fallen about half 
way to the floor, and hung suspended by the thread, 
which had caught in a splinter. The pretty weaver bent 
over slightly to regain it, and as it had slipped out on 
the side next to the captain, she stooped far enough 
almost to touch him. The captain's eyes were just in 
the line of direction with Sophie's stomacher, and he ven- 
tured a slight peep at the concealed treasures ; the next 
moment, he dodged back as if he had been suddenly struck 
at, and brought his teeth in contact with a crash like that of 
a nut-cracker. Again his blood quickened with a deli- 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 203 

cioiis fervor, and, unable longer to resist or subdue the 
impulse, he had already stretched forth his lank arra, 
and was just in the act of grasping Sophie's white, bare 
arm, when a thundering discharge from Hop's nasal 
artillery arrested his amorous purpose, and sent the blood 
back again to the heart with a cold, curdling sensation 
that made his teeth now fairly chatter, as he drew up 
once more on the stool. The noise seemed also to have 
aroused the sleeper himself, for Hop now stretched and 
gave a loud yawn, straightened in his seat, and looked at 
the captain and Sophie as though he had just awakened 
from a comfortable and refreshing nap. 

*' Heigh ! thunder and Boston !" he ejaculated, in his 
sharp, sonorous voice, glancing at the agitated lover, 
"why, what the deuce is the matter with you, my dear 
Mantooth ?" 

" I don't know, unless it be a slight ague," answered 
the captain, still shaking in every limb. " It'll wear off 
directly, though." 

" I'm not so sure of that," said Hop, rising and 
approaching his friend. 

" I've been thinking that something strange was the 
matter with Captain Mantooth for this half hour past," 
now put in Miss Sophie, winking at Hop, slyly. 

"I suspect," said this last-named gentleman, assum- 
ing a very grave professional look as he pinched the 
captain's spine and chunked him slightly in the paunch, 
" I suspect, Mantooth, you've got the whiffles.''^ 

'* The whiffles f'' repeated Captain Mantooth, inquisi- 
tively, as he flinched and slid about under the doctor's 
rather singular examination, being most sadly alarmed, 



204 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

too, by the grave atinouncement, " what may them be, 
Hop ?" 

"They are the very mischief when they once get a fair 
hold on a fellow," answered Hop, shifting his point of 
examination to the groins and kidneys of his shrinking 
friend. " They'll ruin you for life, Mantooth, unless 
speedily cured." 

"How can they be cured, doc?" again asked the 
captain, for he had the most unshakeable faith in 
Hop's skill and knowledge, and really felt somewhat 
uneasy at his symptoms for the last tw^enty-four hours. 
" I'll take anything if you really think they are on me, 
Hop, for I wouldn't be ruined now for the whole world." 

*'0h! as to that," replied Hop, carelessly, "you 
won't have to take a single thing. The whiffles are 
cured in quite another way." 

The captain's heart fluttered and sank as he heard 
this ; for he had been often enough at his friend's shop 
in town to heaV all about surgery and amputation, and 
various operations with the knife and tourniquet. 

"And how may that be, doc?" asked the quaking 
lover, feeling his blood congeal at the bare idea of a 
surgical operation. 

" That's a secret for the present," answered the 
imperturbable Hop, observing that the loom had ceased 
its motion, and that the merry little weaver was almost 
smothering with the desire to laugh, which, by the by, 
as the reader will soon find out, Hop by no means wished 
her to do for fear of offending the captain. "I'll tell 
you the whole matter when we get to your house. Come, 
get your hat and let's be off; you surely didn't intend 
to stay here all night !" 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 205 

" Such had been my intention, Hop," answered the 
precise captain, who was too good a churchman to pre- 
varicate, although he hated badly to confess as much ; 
*' but, if you'll go home with me, I shall be more than 
glad of your company." 

This was soon settled, and the two friends proceeded 
to bid farewell to the charming little weaver, who did 
not forget to invite Captain Mantooth to repeat his visit, 
which elicited a low bow and an affirmative answer from 
that w^orthy gentleman. 

A month had scarcely elapsed from the period of this 
first visit before the whole neighborhood of Lick-the- 
skillet was startled with a report that the pretty and 
admired daughter of Mr. Peter Pomroy was about to con- 
tract matrimonial ties with Captain Lafayette Mantooth. 
What added a great deal to the surprise of everybody, 
too, was the very curious fact that Hop Hubbub, whom 
every one had pitched upon for the husband of the fair 
Sophronia, and who was known to be high in the affec- 
tions of that little lady, was now openly advocating Cap- 
tain Mantooth's pretensions, and telling all the neigh- 
bors frankly that he had first put the enraptured captain 
(to use his own expression) on the scent. From this 
point, matters progressed so rapidly that the wedding 
day was soon named; the captain and his affianced bride 
rode always in public together most lovingly and fami- 
liarly, and, at last, a runner was sent round to invite 
the favored neighbors to the hymeneal feast and frolic. 

Now, lest the conduct of our friend Hop should be 
misunderstood about this affair, and nndue praise unwit- 
tingly lavished upon what may be mistaken for genuine 
magnanimity, I must here narrate what has been subse- 
18 



206 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

quently whispered about among the gossips of Lick-the- 
skillet, in order to account for this inexplicable inter- 
ference, on his part, to urge the captain's suit to a 
successful issue. Hop loved candor in every depart- 
ment of life except one, and now that he is dead and 
gone, I am sure he will prefer, provided he lias any 
choice in the matter where he now is, that his faithful 
biographer shall remove the veil even from that. Every- 
body about Lick-the-skillet knew that Hop was overly 
fond of the girls, and, as he had a big heart and a 
general penchant in this respect, he never concealed that 
he was averse to marriage. In fact, he was often heard 
to declare, in his own humorous way, that he feared 
but two things in the world, viz., a hurricane and a mad 
woman ; and gave, among others, as his reason for living 
a bachelor life, that he dreaded, in case he had a wife, he 
might meet a girl he could love better, and that he would 
sooner stir up the d — 1, any day, than a jealous woman. 
Hop, now, had been loving little Sophie Pomroy a longtime, 
ever since old Hans Von Tromp's melancholy decease ; 
and, after she had blossomed into ripe womanhood, and 
given evidence of those charming rustic accomplishments 
which soon drew to her general admiration, his passion 
gave him serious annoyance. Sophie soon showed that 
he was not disagreeable to her ; and when, one day. Hop 
seized her around the waist just after a swimming race 
in which she had triumphed, and began to kiss her neck 
and lips with more than usual ardor, she artlessly 
indulged a reciprocal tenderness, declaring she loved 
him better than anything on earth, and dearly enough 
to become his for life. The first part of this declaration 
pleased and delighted Hop, but the second did not sound 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 207 

SO agreeable. He feared that she might make matrimony 
indispensable to the fulfilment of his wishes, and in this 
he was seriously resolved not to engage. A year passed 
away, and Hop became convinced that Sophie had 
settled on making this the price of her possession. She 
would allow him any degree of familiarity, and gratify her 
own love by taking full liberty with him in turn, yet fur- 
ther than this she would not consent to go, and strenuous- 
ly repulsed every attempt which Hop ventured to make. 
She would ride and ramble with him, fish with him, 
swim with him unreservedly, and go a bathing with him 
in the same limpid and transparent pools ; but there she 
stopped. She professed to feel, but steadily refused to 
grant his desires ; and Hop at last got to believe her. 

This proved a vexatious point, and often disturbed 
their intimacy for months at a time ; but all of a sudden 
a perfectly agreeable understanding was arranged be- 
tween them. 

Now, whether Sophie's adventure with Captain Man- 
tooth at the secluded ford was the result of pure accident, 
or of a compact with Hop to that effect, the reader must 
conjecture from the facts and from the sequel. But cer- 
tain it is that Hop was soon acquainted with the whole 
affair, and, truly guessing that the captain had been too 
deeply smitten to delay making his addresses longer than 
he could compose himself, had taken up his abode at 
Mr. Pomroy's to witness the whole future progress of the 
j)lan, and was, therefore, fully prepared not only to see 
his fun, but also to perfect his designs, when his simple- 
minded friend rode up as described. What these designs 
were, the courteous reader must divine from what I shall 
now proceed to relate. 



208 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

Like most uneducated and secluded people, many of the 
good citizens about Lick-the-skillet were tinctured with 
strong tendencies to the marvelous and supernatural. 
The wild and mountainous character of the country was 
eminently calculated to beget and nurture superstitious 
impressions. The dark winding glens, the unfathomed 
precipices, the unexplored caverns which now and then 
were discovered in the bed of the mountains, the dashing- 
torrents and unfelled forests around, all contributed to 
produce such feelings. It will not, therefore, be wondered 
at that the mysterious and melancholy fate which had 
overtaken old Hans Von Tromp should have been the 
source of numerous awful stories in the neighborhood ; and 
that as time wore on these stories had gained firmer hold 
on the imagination of those who heard or narrated them. 

The mill had never been tenanted since the death of 
its builder, for, as Pomroy had negro fellows to aid him 
in sawing and grinding, he had no occasion to hire white 
men, who would, in such a case, have been forced to sleep 
in Hans Von Tromp's apartment, the owner's dwelling- 
having but two rooms and a garret. The head negro 
was thoroughly the victim of superstitious fears, and 
on his authority principally some of the most awful tales 
were told about, in connection with the mill. It was 
reported that the black, being detained on a certain night 
much later than usual at the mill, had been surprised by 
the sudden entrance of a tall and large man, black like 
himself, with two small fireballs for eyes, and, instead of 
teeth of the usual kind, immense fangs of red hot iron 
supplied their place in his mouth. He proceeded straight 
to the old Dutchman's sleeping room, and entering with- 
out ceremony, his voice and old Von Tromp's were soon 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 209 

heard at a high pitch, and seemingly engaged in a most 
ferocious quarrel. A noise of scuffling and stamping was 
heard next, and presently afterward the door of Hans' 
room flew wide open, whilst he and the black giant, 
locked in a deadly embrace, came whirling and wrestling 
through the mill-house, first one falling and then the 
other. As they approached the cavity near the fly-wheel, 
and through which it was the honest old millwright's 
joy and delight to watch its steady revolutions, Hans 
began to pull back and struggle more fiercely, and his 
hair rose erect on his head from excessive fright. The 
black man, however, urged him vigorously forward with 
a most unearthly grin ; they came to its very edge, and 
Hans had only time to exclaim, in a voice of despair, 
" Dish wash no pard of der bargain, goot mynheer teu- 
fell!" before both went through together, the black on 
top, and then nothing more was ever seen of either. 

Another version was that an old man who had come 
to the mill late one evening to get his employer's flour, 
being rather sleepy-headed, had fallen into a deep slum- 
ber in a dark corner of the room ; and no one supposino- 
but that he had gone back home, the millers all left for the 
night, locking him unfortunately in, to take his chances 
with the goblins and devils who were supposed to infest 
the house. He slept on very quietly until a little before 
midnight, when, all of a sudden, he was awakened by 
the sound of heavy footsteps, sounding over the floor 
towards the bolting-trough. An immense black figure 
strode past him, exhaling a strong scent of brim- 
stone, which left no room to doubt that it was the de- 
vil. He entered old Von Tromp's room, who greeted 
him with a scornful guttural grunt as he opened the door 

18* 



210 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

Immediately the noise of a struggle was heard, and 
fierce imprecations were uttered by both parties ; and 
then a crash followed, which seemed to jar the mill to 
its deepest foundations, at the same time that a terrible 
splash was heard in the waters of the race underneath. 

These wild stories, and many others of a like marvel- 
ous character, were afloat through the whole district of 
Lick-the-skillet, and no one believed them more devoutly 
and unqualifiedly, as it happened, than Captain Lafayette 
Mantooth. Hop Hubbub was well aware of this infirm- 
ity of the captain, and he resolved to play off upon his 
credulous friend, on the night of his marriage, a most cruel 
and wicked prank. 

It has been mentioned that Mr. Pomroy's house afforded 
not a single spare bed-room, and, as Hop very naturally 
concluded thatthey would be compelled to make use of old 
Hans Von Tromp's snug little apartment in the mill for 
a nuptial chamber, he determined to oust the unfortunate 
bridegroom of his promised bridal enjoyments, if person- 
ating the devil and the Dutchman could do it. With 
this view he had to enlist the services of a boon com- 
panion in mischief, hardly less known through Lick-the- 
skillet than himself. But, as Mr. Josiah Morehead was 
a merchant in full business, besides being a noted sports- 
man, and, in consequence, often called from home on long 
journeys, he was not a very frequent visitor at this favor- 
ite haunt of his friend Hop, and had not been there for 
years when called to go down upon this occasion. Joe 
had a long head and a most inventive genius. He had 
even been known to outwit Hop himself on several oc- 
casions, which caused many to wonder afterwards why 
the latter should have employed him on that in question. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 211 

He was handsome and more dressy than Hop, and was 
always enabled thus to run ahead in the good graces of 
the tender sex. 

The wedding-day came, and the invited guests set 
busily about preparing to lend their friendly aid in making 
way with the substantial viands which they knew Mrs. 
Pomroy had furnished for the occasion. A solemn fast 
was held during the entire day, that they might not destroy 
or impair the tone of their eager appetites; and in honor 
of the event Mr. Pomroy closed his mill until the next 
morning, which enabled him to devote his whole time in 
arranging for the festivity. About the middle of the 
afternoon, Hop Hubbub and his friend Morehead, being 
both engaged to wait on the impatient bridegroom, rode 
up to announce the captain's readiness for the event, 
saying that he had been washed and dressed ever since 
noon. The fair bride was, however, still engaged at the 
cake bowls, and received the two groomsmen in the supper 
room in her ordinary tidy attire, with her sleeves tucked 
up considerably above the elbow, and her frock and petti- 
coats drawn half way to the knee ; whilst her pretty face 
was all in a flush from excitement and fatigue. Such 
was the fascination of her looks and manner, such the 
striking development of her voluptuous figure thus attired, 
that Joe Morehead, frail creature that he was, fell into an 
ecstasy of admiration at first sight, and, as he had known 
her when a child, and was her father's intimate friend 
and merchant, the charming Sophie was forced to allow 
him a hearty salute of her sweet lips; and, it may as 
well be added, that, improving by (he rule of taking an 
inch where an ell has been granted, Joe could not resist 
the temptation to press to his bosom her sol'^t and glowing 



212 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

form. Such tokens of warm admiration from this fine and 
handsome gentleman so pleased the bride elect that she 
betrayed her joy by a scarlet blush, which, as may be 
imagined, Joe by no means failed to notice particularly; 
and when, after a minute or two, Hop stepped out 
to see the old folks, he availed himself of the opportu- 
nity to repeat, far more warmly, the same delightful feats 
of gallantry and devotion, which thoroughly enraptured 
the susceptible young creature to whom he had already 
imparted a share of his glowing passion. 

Lookout, Hop — that thou hast not a cuckoo's evg in 
thy nest, and trusted thy secret to wily hands! 

The hour approached, and a whole troop of neighbors, 
all in their Sunday clothes, and rigged out in all the finery 
they could scrape up by hook or by crook, already filled 
the parlor of the miller's house, anxiously awaiting the 
appearance of the wedding folks, as they called the bride 
and her groom. The parson who was to join them as 
man and wife had arrived ; the old folks had come in and 
taken their seats ; and as, now and then, a fragrant scent 
from the luscious viands in the next room would flavor 
the passing breath of wind, and draw the salivary fluids 
to a hundred craving mouths, the whole company would 
simultaneously ejaculate a wish that the young people 
would come along and have it over at once. 

At length they were gratified; the bridal party appeared, 
attended by half a dozen couples of groomsmen and ladies 
in waiting, and the ceremony was commenced. All eyes 
were turned to catch a last glimpse of the belle of Lick- 
the-skillet, ere she changed her lot in life. "Ah, Sophie!" 
every one thought, " no more wild romping and swimming 
with thy admirers now!" Sophie never looked prettier 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 213 

in all her life. She was dressed with no pretensions to 
the fashion of the day; but, if there was none of this, its 
absence was more than compensated in those round, 
naked arms, that soft neck, and the glowing bust which 
was only half concealed by her low stomacher. 

But ah ! how shall I describe thee, happy, thrice happy 
Lafayette Mantooth — thou worthy representative of all the 
pride and chivalry of thy native Lick-the-skillet ! Deeply 
impressed, like a sincere Christian ought to have been, 
with the importance and solemnity of the occasion, the 
captain approached to the centre of the room with slow, 
measured step, eyes half closed, head thrown slightly 
back, and with a countenance of woe and sanctimony 
that would have done no discredit to Job in the darkest 
hour of his affliction. He looked as though he had come 
to bury Sophie, not to wed her ; but the captain had good 
reason for this unseasonable tristfulness of demeanor. He 
had pondered the matter well over, and had brought 
his mind to conclude that, heathen as he was, he was 
entering into the holy estate of matrimony, not by God's 
appointment as he should do, but in unworthy obedience 
to carnal weakness and desires. These, it is true, were 
uncontrollable and irrepressible, but by way of full pen- 
ance the captain felt it to be his duty to approach the 
altar devotionally and meekly ; and although he strictly 
fulfilled this vow in mind and to outward appearance, yet 
Sophie was, once or twice, in their passage to the wedding 
apartment, forced to cry out softly for quarter, as the eager 
groom would involuntarily press and squeeze her tender 
arm betwixt his sharp, projecting ribs, and the pointed 
elbow in whose capacious crotch that pretty limb was 
resting. 



214 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

The captain's wedding apparel eminently became his 
lank, ungainly figure. It consisted, first, of a blue broad- 
cloth coat with brass buttons, with an immense collar 
reaching almost to the crown of his flat head, and falling 
gradually as it met the lapel ; the point of conjunction 
being marked by two huge intersecting flaps, shaped like 
dogs' ears, and standing out prominently on either side. 
The waist of the coat had out-traveled his own by at least 
half of a foot, and the skirts dangled quite gracefully below 
the knee as the wearer stalked along ; whilst the loose 
breeches bagged and flapped around his diminutive legs 
with a motion not unlike that of the elephant's ears as he 
marches leisurely around the ring. His chin was propped 
by a high stiiT stock, which fitted so closely around his 
neck that, what with this and the starched shirt collar 
which covered the whole lower portion of his face, the 
captain was scarcely enabled to move his head without 
carrying around his whole body ; and to complete the 
picture, his feet were supplied with a pair of stout-soled 
high quarter shoes, selected and brought out by Joe More- 
head, which creaked forth delightful music by way of 
heralding his martial steps. 

Now, the old preacher, whose jolly, rubicund face had 
been nothing but a convexity of bland expectant smiles 
all along (doubtless in anticipation of the good cheer and 
handsome fee which awaited him), no sooner caught sight 
of the sanctimonious and rueful expression of the worthy 
groom, for whose piety and snug property he had all 
imaginable respect, than he also drew down his features 
to a genuine religious length, drooped his eyes, and as- 
sumed at once a becoming gravity of manner. He began 
the ceremony in a hoarse, bull-frog sort of drawl, that 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 215 

had nearly discomposed the fair bride and her two mis- 
chievous friends at the very outset ; whilst it so deeply 
impressed the captain that he gave a long, deep, peni- 
tential sigh by way of response. The answers of the fair 
bride were made in such subdued whispers that they were 
scarcely audible to those who stood around, and when 
interrogated to know whether, forsaking all others, she 
would clingonly to him who was now to become her lord, 
Sophie responded so indistinctly, and with such an arch 
expression of eyes and mouth, that none were able to 
determine clearly whether she had said yes or no. The 
preacher, however, was not the man to balk at ceremony 
on this point, and, presuming an affirmative where nothing 
warranted a negative, he proceeded to put the same ques- 
tion to Captain Mantooth. This time, however, the worthy 
parson put on rather a more demure face, assumed a 
more affected and drawling tone of voice, and dwelt 
tremblingly and lingeringly upon each word as it fell from 
his lips. The captain all along had attributed Sophie's 
low, indistinct mutterings to that amiable and becoming 
diffidence so common and so very natural under the cir- 
cumstances, and now that his turn had come to promise, 
solemnly, that he would love, honor, and protect her as 
his wedded wife, and cling to her only of all women on 
earth, he resolved, by a master-stroke, to inspire and 
reassure her with a portion of his own honest confidence 
and mental tranquillity. To this end he elevated his head 
an inch or two above the level of his stock, swayed his 
back slightly, closed his eyes altogether, and responded 
in the same tone as the preacher's, " I will, Brother Dip- 
well, the Lord being my helper!" 

As the captain uttered these words at full prayer pitch. 



216 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

and just exactly in the attitude which I have described, 
the effect produced on the auditors was instantaneous, 
though quite various. The preacher involuntarily opened 
his eyes, as though taken by surprise ; the old Baptist 
men and women present simultaneously sealed the pro- 
raise with a fervent amen ; some of the young folks tittered, 
and others giggled outright. But Hop ! He would not 
have taken the profits of a year's practice for the scene — 
and it would have done one good to have seen how, with 
a dexterity peculiar to himself, he threw up the corners 
of his eyes Chinese fashion, and how quizzically he 
puckered his mouth — though he did not so much as 
crack a smile. Not so with the merry-hearted and less 
stoical bride ! She fell, for support, full against the lank, 
hollow side of her newly-made lord (v^'ho could scarcely 
contain himself for rapture under the sweet burden), and 
gave vent to her feelings by a flow of uncontainable, 
though subdued laughter ; whilst the muscles of Joe 
Morehead's mouth and nose began to twitter and jump 
at a most frolicksome rate, which was a way that worthy 
had of expressing his diversion and merriment, rather 
than by the usual vulgar mode. 

The ceremony being over, the groom managed, by dint 
of stretching and propping his sparse allowance of lips, 
to get a sufficiency of skin over his teeth to give a salute 
to his shrinking bride ; and then her cheeks and mouth 
were literally stormed with volleys of smacking kisses 
from those around, male as well as female, whilst many 
claimed the wedding privilege of hugging and tousing 
the bride and all her maids. At length a truce was 
begged and quarter solicited by the weaker party, and 
then the revels and carousing began. None of your 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 217 

frigid, staid, ceremonious doings ! Everybody felt merry, 
and everybody danced, the preacher himself leading 
down in the opening reel, and the old miller and his 
well-worn dame close at his heels. Lafayette capered 
and shuffled as if he had been born anew in the flesh as 
well as in the spirit, and if, in crossing over once, his 
legs had not unfortunately become tangled so as to trip 
him suddenly over, he would, undoubtedly, have borne 
off the palm from all competitors, for the captain always 
danced for the love of the thing, in good, earnest sin- 
cerity, not for the purpose of merely showing himself off 
in certain nimble feats or graceful steps. 

How everybody's heart bounded and thumped when 
the little brass bell rang for supper in Sophie's weaving- 
room ! The dancing ceased in a second, and in the very 
midst of a merry reel, in which Joe Morehead and the 
bride were performing cuts and crossings which drew 
unbounded admiration. Each one seized hold of his 
partner, and dashed off at a long trot, for the hearty ex- 
ercise had only served to increase the eagerness of ap- 
petites already most severely tested. And then followed 
such furious assaults upon the carcasses of slaughtered 
chickens, and ducks, and turkeys, and even of geese, all 
of whom had yielded up their lives in the cause ! The 
smoke-house had been brought under contribution also, 
and several greasy, well-smoked, mellow-flavored old 
hams occupied regular stations along the centre of the 
table, showing the extent of the innovation ; whilst here 
and there, as if to prove that every species of foray had 
been put in practice, a haunch of dried venison, and 
messes of nicely-fried fish, recently drawn from the trap 
under the mill (a relic of Hans Von Tromp's piscatory 
19 



218 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

achievements and skill), were spread out in tempting 
array before the delighted guests. A row of side tables 
groaned beneath the weight of cakes, and puddings, and 
home-made preserves; and large hampers of apples and 
peaches were seen planted in every corner of the room ; 
while, to crown all, the jolly old miller would now and 
then admonish his guests to save themselves as much as 
possible, as he had in the back entry (to use his own ex- 
pression and simple language), " a plenty of millions, 
both water and mush,"* Never before had such fine doings 
been seen in Lick-the-skillet, and several acknowledged 
frankly that they had set eyes for the first time, that 
night, on knives and forks. In proof of this, it was re- 
marked that many a forest-borrf yeoman did not know 
how to use them, until instructed by some more traveled 
neighbor, and then they declared, with a grin, "that the 
things helped a body powerfully in eating." 

After supper had been dispatched, and when every 
one had declared himself fully satisfied, the guests again 
adjourned to the parlor (or, as the people of Lick-the- 
skillet would say, the big room), and the dancing was 
resumed for awhile, that the ample allowance of victuals 
which had been taken in might be well stowed and set- 
tled before bed-time. By way of an agreeable change, 
dancing was suspended occasionally, and " Sister Phebe," 
" Grind the Bottle," and " Blind man's buff" were intro- 
duced. At length, an hour or so after midnight, the amuse- 
ments of this pleasant evening, which was marked as 
having been the brightest in the life of many who were 

* Backwoods people, in the South, invariably pronounce melon 
as if it was million, and they conclude that the soft, mushy con- 
tents of the muslcm^Xovi must, of course, give name to the fruit. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 219 

present, were brought to an end by the time-honored 
custom of selling and redeeming pawns. By three 
o'clock all the merry guests had departed for their 
homes, and Lafayette was left, accompanied only by his 
two principal attendants, to prepare for the grand finale 
of all wedding nights. 

But a most painful and alarming piece of news was in 
store for the impatient bridegroom. Hop Hubbub and 
Joe Morehead, who had just returned from escorting, in 
company with the maids, the fair bride to her quarters 
for the night, now entered to inform Captain Mantooth 
that Sophie was snugly abed in old Von Tromp's room 
at the mill, and that he might follow as soon as he chose. 
The captain started, aiTd stared at his attendants with 
mute incredulity ; but wdien he was seriously assured 
that such had really been the arrangement, his knees 
smote together in spite of all efforts to control their motion, 
and his heart sank within him. The blood which had 
been coursing through his veins at boiling-point tempera- 
ture the moment before now dropped to zero in a trice. 
The captain was actually debating to himself whether he 
should not fly the track, for his fears of ghosts were too 
strongly implanted to be shaken from their hold even by 
his anticipated pleasure. 

At this moment, Joe Morehead left the room, and Hoj) 
alone undertook the guidance of the now sorely-frightened 
bridegroom. The captain was ashamed, of course, to ex- 
plain the cause of his delay and indecision, and Hop was 
vastly too smart at his business even to hint that he sus- 
pected it; so, after the lapse of fifteen or twenty minutes, 
he at last succeeded in leading the captain out of the 



220 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

house, and, having conducted him to the door of the mill, 
thrust him forcibly in, and bade him a hasty good night. 
The mill room was perfectly dark, and Lafayette, thus 
suddenly abandoned and left to himself, could perceive 
only a faint ray of light glimmering through the keyhole 
of the bridal chamber. Two or three immense strides of 
his lone: legs carried him two-thirds of the distance which 
intervened ; and then, collecting his shattered and palsied 
strength, he succeeded in clearing the remainder by a 
single leap, striking against the door with a force that 
actually jarred the whole building. In an instant more 
he had forced it open, and presented himself before his 
surprised and laughter-loving spouse an animated mass 
of shaking terror. But here mafters presented to him a 
worse aspect than ever. There, in its accustomed corner, 
still stood the rough bedstead of old Von Tromp, and 
from which he had risen to engage in the unholy strife 
which ended in his death. Mr. Pomroy had reverentially 
forbidden all persons under him ever to remove it, and so 
here it was now just as its occupant had left it six years 
ago, with his large sea chest, and hat, and boots, all 
stowed away by its side. Lafayette's teeth chattered, 
and his long bony limbs shook terribly whilst he undressed 
and prepared for bed. Not even the sight and presence 
of that charming little creature who had been the subject 
of his thoughts by day and of his dreams by night for a 
month past, added to the consciousness that she was now- 
all his own, could allay or dispel the awful sensations of 
fright which deprived him of his vigor, and were about 
to cheat him of his fondest anticipations. 

At length, however, he managed to get rid of his outer 
garments, and then, with quaking heart and fluttering 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 221 

pulse, extinguished the lamp. As the light had been 
placed on a chair quite near to the bed, it cost the cap- 
tain but a single exertion to slide in ; and, nimbly whisking 
up the sheets and counterpane, he covered over head and 
ears before one could have said Jack Robinson, and then 
tumbled up close to Sophie, who often declared afterwards 
that his bones felt just like lumps of ice. 

All now was quiet for several minutes, and under the 
soothing influences of Sophie's balmy breath, the captain 
was beginning to coax and warm himself into comparative 
forgetfulness and ease of mind, when, suddenly, the large 
door of the mill-room was heard to swing open with a 
harsh, reverberating slam. Lafayette jumped as though 
every nerve in his body had been severed, and shuddered 
from head to foot with unfeigned alarm. Heavy, clang- 
ing footsteps resounded over the floor, and were evidently 
advancing to the bridal chamber at a regular measured 
pace. The perspiration gathered in large drops on 
Lafayette's forehead, and quickly bedewed his whole 
body ; while, at the same time, Sophie's little heart began 
to beat pitty-pat, in double quick time, though from a 
very different cause than ghostly fear. Just as the steps 
paused at the door of the chamber, Lafayette found that 
sulphurous vapors were penetrating through keyhole, and 
crevice, and window cranny, and he felt already the 
symptoms of suffocation. One hope, however, flashed 
on his mind ; he had locked and bolted the door securely, 
and as old Hans Von Tromp was not there to let the 
intruder in, he persuaded himself, faintly and partially, 
that the latter might go away without attempting forcible 
entrance. But this delusive ray was soon dissipated and 
obscured. The echo of the last step without had scarcely 

19* 



222 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

died away, before Lafayette's sharpened ears caught the 
sound of a creaking noise in the direction of Von Tromp's 
bedstead, like that which might proceed from some one 
moving heavily over in sleep. In a moment, all the wild 
and awful tales of the strife betwixt the old Dutchman 
and the black giant, with the whole horrid accompani- 
ments, came to his recollection. He saw already the 
grim features, the blazing eyeballs, and red hot teeth of 
the one ; the fierce struggles, the harsh imprecations, and 
frantic appeals of the other, fell next on his ear. Then 
came the deadly grapple, and the unearthly laughter, 
and the dying groans, and the splashing uproar of troubled 
waters. 

This ghastly concentration of all that was revolting to 
mortal man, and appalling to human nature, was more 
than the weak nerves of Captain Lafayette Mantooth 
could possibly endure, or have been expected to endure. 
No wonder he should forget his blooming bride, and 
forego his eager anticipations ! 

As things stood, let alone what w^as expected to ensue, 
the captain felt that there was no safety for a Christian 
man but in speedy flight, and for this there was but one 
only chance. Immediately at the head of his bed was a 
capacious w'indow, defended only by a stout shutter, 
which fastened inside by means of an iron hook and sta- 
ple. The sill was not more than ten feet from the ground, 
and this to Captain Mantooth's legs was no distance at 
all. His resolution was formed in a trice of time ; and, 
in momentary dread that he would next hear old Von 
Tromp's grunt of welcome to his black visitor, without 
even stopping to catch up a single piece of clothing, and 
leaving Sophie to take devil's fare with the hinchnost, 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 223 

Lafayette opened the window with a nimble, sleight-o'- 
liand effort, made a swinging leap through the air, with 
the tail of his long shirt streaming full out behind, and, 
haying reached the ground safely, scampered off towards 
his own quiet home with the agility and speed of a flying 
Indian. 

The track having thus been cleared, the nocturnal 
intruder without began to twist and turn softly the knob 
of the door, and to rap slightly, now and then, on the 
panels. But all to no purpose ; everything was still 
within. Surely, thought Hop (who, as the reader has 
doubtless imagined, was personating the black visitor of 
old Von Tromp) the girl has not followed the groom ! 
Anxious to ascertain this fact and beginning already to 
distrust his wily confederate, Hop applied his lips to the 
key-hole, and whispered, in a low tone of voice, " Sophie ! 
Sophie!" No answer came, but a suppressed titter 
caught his sharpened ear, followed by a smart rustle of 
shucks and feathers, as if the fair bride had rolled from 
one side of the bed to the other. Hop waited anxiously 
one moment to see if his ally would now open the door 
according to arrangement ; but Joe had, apparently, for- 
gotten this part, or, considering that the groom's flight 
(ere he had even found a chance to grunt for the old 
Dutchman) was the signal for his own departure, had 
probably made his escape, as was agreed, through the 
same aperture. The door remained fast, and Hop, at 
length, lost all patience. Again, however, he essayed 
the pronunciation of Sophie's name, and the whispers 
were sent through the keyhole somewhat louder, but still 
subdued. His respiration was almost entirely suspended, 
as he eagerly listened for some answering signal within. 



224 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

Suddenly he started back as if an earwig had leaped into 
the distended cavity of his ear ; a knowing, half-humor- 
ous expression flitted over his countenance. He then 
turned despairingly from the door, and, dismantling him- 
self of the disguise he had adopted, slid quietly back 
through the window of Sophie's w-eaving-room, which had 
been assigned to Joe Morehead and himself for sleeping 
quarters during the few hours that were yet wanted to 
bring the daylight. 

" The sly old trout!" muttered Hop, as he groped his 
way cautiously to the pallet, fearing to upset some chair 
or table, " a nice rare-ripe I have made of myself!" 

" Holloh!" exclaimed the voice of Joe Morehead, in a 
smothered tone, as he turned softly over at hearing Hop, 
" why, what the deuce brought you back so soon ?" 

Hop, for the first time in his life, shuddered with sud- 
den apprehension. He was expecting to hear any other 
voice than that of his friend at that time, and when he 
called to mind what had transpired scarcely ten minutes 
since, could not at first believe that it really was the veri- 
table Joe in solid flesh and blood. 

"jE/ere, are you, curse you!" said Hop, half seriously, 
as he slipped into the vacant place on the pallet, and 
chunked Joe's portly side and belly with several vigor- 
ous bouts with his fist. 

"Here, indeed!" answered the imperturbable Joe. 
"Why, I've been back these twenty minutes or more ! 
Confess, Hop, didn't I act old Von Tromp's part to the 
very life?" 

"In a horn — " answered Hop, mysteriously. 

"What do you mean?" asked Joe, quite gravely. 
" Why, didn't you hear me grunt?" 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 225 

"Yes did I, by Jucks!" replied Hop, "several times ; 
and much more naturally than ghosts usually grunt. 
Your'e a crack grunter, Joe!" 

"I thought it was best to give him a good scare, you 
know!" said Joe, archly and dryly. 

" It didn't seem to scare Sophie much, I thought !" 
again said Hop, with quizzical emphasis. 

" Oh! Sophie understood it all, you know!" answered 
Joe, in the same artless, indifferent tone. 

" I rather think she did!" was Hop's laconic reply. 

"What a devilish little hussy she is!" said Joe; 
laughingly. 

"Yes — a devilish more so than I thought P'' replied 
Hop. 

"It's not at all surprising, though !" gaped out Joe ; 
" she's had the best sort of a teacher, you know, Hop !" 

*' Yes," again answered Hop, chunking Joe stronger 
than ever, " yes, the very best the country affords. I'll 
knock under after this, old trout !" 

" What if Mantooth should find it out ?" asked Joe, 
seemingly indifferent. 

" I guess Sophie will manage about that for you !" 
replied Hop. 

"For me.'" said Joe, whistling for surprise. "I sup- 
pose you had no part in it, then! I thought you were 
more man than to beat a retreat after the battle's over!" 

" Oh ! as for me," answered Hop, carelessly, " T 
didn't so much as get a sight of the battle, the escalade, 
or the escape. The old Dutchman's ghost found better 
fare, it would seem, than fighting his black visitor, for 
he did not even think to open the door!" 

"Why, I followed Mantooth, you know," said Joe, in 



22G MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

a low and lisping sort of tone, " and had no time to open 
the door ; and, besides, I hardly thought it was fair to 
scare both bride and groom." 

"So, it scared Sophie, after all, then!" said Hop. 
" Why, I thought she understood it all, Joe !" 

"Yes," answered Joe, with admirable imperturbabili- 
ty, "but she screamed a little when I grunted, in spite of 
all she could do !" 

" No wonder!" said Hop, bluntly. 

"And so you came off right away, did you ?" asked 
Joe, again. 

" No, I waited a little, just a little while, Joe !" was 
Hop's answer. " I hardly thought you'd 've beat me 
back, though." 

" Well, I fear it will play the very d — 1 to-morrow, 
all through Lick-the-skillet !" said Joe, half seriously. 

" No ; I think the d — 1 has played his full part to- 
night, friend Joe!" answered Hop, in his natural tone. 
" Come, old trout, no more see-sawing. You've trumped 
my trick right fairly, and I'm not the man to revoke, you 
know !" 

" Well, well," drawled forth Joe, " you're the strangest 
fellow I ever saw ! Here you go to " 

"True to the last, hey!" said Hop, turning over, 
laughingly. " Well, there's the roosters — let's go to 
sleep." 

The next morning, soon after sunrise, the worthy and 
valorous captain, accompanied by one or two of his near 
neighbors, was seen riding up to Mr. Pomroy's gate. 
Sophie, already up and dressed, welcomed them at the 
door, directing towards her husband a look in which 
disgust was faintly commingled with mischief; whilst 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 227 

Mr. Pomroy and his spouse, totally taken aback by his 
appearance in such company, and fully believing that he 
had passed the night with their fair daughter, stared at 
first one, and then the other, in mutual surprise. 

" Good morning, Sophie!" said the captain, approach- 
ing his blushing bride, "how did you make out last 
night after I was forced to leave you ?" 

"Oh, very well indeed, I thank you, captain!" 
answered the bride, shrinking back, and curtsying leer- 
ingly. 

"He didn't get in then?" asked the captain, amazed. 
"Who — who get in ?" asked Sophie, in turn. 
" The devil, sure!" answered the captain, with quak- 
ing emphasis. 

" You must be out of your senses, you old fool!" said 
the bold Sophie, affecting very considerable pettishness. 
" What? and didn't the inside one trouble you either ?" 
again asked the puzzled captain, holding up both hands. 
" I assure you, my doughty sir, I was never less 
troubled in my life^than last night, especially after you 
left me," answered Sophie, smiling as she again curt- 
sied. 

"My God! my God, Sophie!" exclaimed her per- 
plexed lord, in doleful accents, "I made sure, ray 
darling, you'd be ruined forever. Oh, neighbors, and 
Mr. Pomroy, I was sorely, most sorely beset this over- 
night." 

" Since the world was made," put in old Mrs. Pomroy, 
casting up her eyebrows, and puckering her mouth, 
" did ever a man talk before about being heset on his wed- 
ding night — and Sophie so young, too !" 

"I do assure you, dear madam," answered the cap- 



228 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

tain, in the same tone, "that I grieve and am ashamed 
to tell what happened to Sophie and me last night." 

"And how do you know, sir, what happened to me?" 
asked Sophie, brushing up smartly. 

" And I'd make you know, if" I was Sophie, for blab- 
bing this way before two men neighbors !" again said 
the now nettled dame. 

"Ah, my friends!" sighed the captain appealingly, 
speaking to Mr. Pomroy and his neighbors, "it was the 
Dutchman and the Evil One, as sure as earth. It must 
have been. Nothing else but the fear of the soul's enemy 
could ever have driven me from my bride's arms." 

"Driven you from your bride's arms!" repeated Mr. 
Pomroy, now joining in also, gravely and sternly. "You 
surely did not leave Sophronia alone last night, Captain 
Mantooth ; let me hope not, for the sake of all the men 
in Lick-the-skillet !" 

"Not alone, neighbor Pomroy," again sighed the 
captain, " but worse than alone, I fear — far worse. I 
fear mightily, dear sir, that the devil was near to her, if 
not with her, this night last gone." 

" The d — 1, sure enough !" says Sophie, tossing her 
head. "I say, too, if the d — 1 ever goes about in the 
shape of a flat turnip stuck on two handspikes, with a 
blown-up eelskin for his body, I surely had him with 
me last night, but, thank God, not long." 

" How strange this all is!" ejaculated Mr. Pomroy. 

"Oh, you must know, pa, that Captain Mantooth 
jumped out of the window and left me, last night, before 
he ever got cleverly into bed," said Sophie, turning to 
her father with an air of complaint ; " never mind. 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 229 

though, for, as God 's my judge, the creature never comes 
a-bed with me again!" 

"Oh, don't say that, Sophie; you'll kill me if you 
do !" said Captain Mantooth, imploringly, and seriously 
alarmed, 

" I will say it, and stick to it, too !" answered the 
offended bride. 

" Captain Mantooth, I must say that you've acted the 
strangest I ever have heard talk of," said Mr. Pomroy. 
*' Do tell us what's been the cause of all this flare-up." 

The captain complied ; and, beginning with the time 
when Hop Hubbub had j)ushed him into the mill, nar- 
rated faithfully the wdiole scenes that followed — the foot- 
steps, the noise in old Von Tromp's bed, his own fright, 
and his escape through the window. During this strange 
recital, the two neighbors, who believed every w'ord of 
it, as well as the wild tales about the Dutchman and the 
black giant, listened with staring eyes and open mouths, 
attesting the same by declaring that they had beea 
aroused soon after midnight by Captain Mantooth, afoot, 
with nothing on but his shirt, and on his way home, 
who told them just the same story which he had now 
told Mr. Pomroy. But this latter sagacious gentleman 
gave several meaning nods of the head, as though, whilst 
not doubting his son-in-law's veracity, he was gravely 
dissenting to his opinions of the supernatural agencies 
which had been at work, and wdiich showed, moreover, 
plainly enough, that, with true professional acumen, he 
could see deeper into the millstone than that. He ad- 
mitted, very wisely, that somebody had played the devil, 
sure enough, but that he thought that the devil himself 
was free from all guilt in this instance ; whilst his 
20 



230 MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 

equally sharp-witted old dame blessed herself that So- 
phie was married just the same as if she had been the 
mother of a dozen children. 

"And where 's Hop Hubbub and Mr, Morehead ?" 
asked one of the neighbors, who had caught an idea 
from Mr. Pomroy. 

"Oh, they left more than an hour ago," answered 
the miller, as he exchanged a shrewd glance with his 
brightening neighbor. 

"Indeed!" said Sophie, wonderingly and artlessly, 
" I thought, pa, they went away last night." 

"No, child," put in Mrs. Pomroy, regarding Sophie 
tenderly and pryingly; " we put them in the weaving-room 
on a pallet after the supper things were moved out ; and 
they must have slept mighty softly and quietly, for we 
heard nothing of them till just before day." 

"Sophie!" said the captain, after he had finished his 
narration, and sidling up to his bride, whose face was 
now again bright and beaming as ever, " Sophie, you'll 
take that back, and go home with me to-night now, won't 
you, sweet .'"' 

"Yes, Sophie, I think you had best pardon the cap- 
tain," said her father. " Strange things will happen 
sometimes; and the mill was just the place for them to 
happen. So, now, neighbors, we'll all agree to say 
nothing about what's befel the captain here, and Sophie; 
and yon, Sophie, must go home, and behave so prettily 
for the future that the devil will never get after you 
again." 

To this, the charming bride of Lick-the-skillet found 
it necessary to assent, and, as a token of her reconcilia- 
tion with the captain, permitted him to kiss those cherry 



MISSISSIPPI SCENES. 231 

lips, and embrace that peerless figure, which had so long 
charmed his imagination, and filled him with fondest love. 
I have never heard but that they lived most happily 
together as man and wife, and, though there are some 
pretty little stories circulated about the night that Sophie 
spent with the ghost of her old friend, Hans Von Tromp, in 
the mill-house, and it is whispered that Mr. Joe Morehead 
is a frequent and favorite visitor at her husband's mansion, 
yet she has the character of being a pattern of a wife. 

Old Peter Pomroy and his wife were still living when 
I last visited Lick-lhe-skillet. Hop Hubbub is dead, they 
say; but when, and how, and where he died, nobody 
exactly knows. Many believe that he will one day re- 
appear in his old haunts ; but it is a thing spoken about 
as if they thought he might as likely appear in the shape 
of a ghost as of a man. 

I cannot undertake to argue this point, but certain I 
am, and sadly do T fear that, taking him all in all, we 
shall never behold Hop's like again. 

"But you surely will tell us something more about that 
wily old mad-cap, Joe Morehead?" 

No, kind reader ; here must end the Bride of Lick- 
the-skillet. 



THE MNKEEPEE'S WIEE 

A STORY OF THE REVOLUTION. 



CHAPTER I. 

In Prince Edward county, Virginia, within a sliort 
distance of the Court House, and a few miles only from 
Hampden Sydney College, stands a venerable edifice, 
known to this day as Moore's old Ordinary, or, in Vir- 
ginia parlance, Or''nary. Anterior to the War of the 
Revolution, and during the whole of that eventful strug- 
gle, it had been a favored resort of the travelers, and of 
the soldiers passing to or from the scene of action. 

During the war, the proprietor of this ancient estab- 
lishment was Major Joseph Moore, an Englishman by 
birth, but known throughout the struggle for independ- 
ence as an unwavering and active Whig, though hold- 
ing no office in the army, or under Congress. In times 
of dismay and general misgiving, when the Old Dominion 
was crowded with hostile troops, and the wearied, half- 
famished troops of Greene and Lafayette were every- 
where driven before their victorious arms — this old 
gentleman took heart of grace by greeting daily with his 
morning cup a miserably painted picture of General 



THE innkeeper's WIPE, 233 

Washington which adorned his parlor mantel, and en- 
couraged his desponding neighbors by examples of dar- 
ing and ceaseless activity in serving the good cause. 
He had provoked, to an irreparable extent, the ven- 
geance of the British and Hessian officers, not only by 
adroitly eluding their most cautious searches, but by his 
zeal in forwarding provisions of food and clothing to the 
suffering troops of his adopted country. From the be- 
ginning, he had calculated the price of his adhesion to 
the colonial authorities, and bravely resolved to meet the 
issue of his patriotic decision by the sacrifice of all he 
owned, if such became necessary. Whilst his pursuers 
were in the neighborhood, he was often forced to take to 
the woods with his negroes and stock, where he would 
live for days and weeks in a large cave, the existence of 
which was known to none but stanch friends. 

When it is told that, during these ever-recurring ab- 
sences, the young -wife of this determined Whig resolute- 
ly kept by her troubled board, steadily discharging her 
duties as mistress and landlady, it will easily be con- 
jectured that she could have been none but an extra- 
ordinary woman, such as, in those days, stamped an 
undying influence on their neglected and underrated sex. 
The writer of this sketch recalls at this period with 
peculiar pleasure, not unmixed with some pride, many 
a tale of the heroic fortitude and Spartan courage which 
distinguished his venerable ancestress, and charmed many 
an hour of his youthful days. She was emphatically a 
woman of the Revolution. 

Unlike her husband, who was originally a ship-builder, 
she was well-born, and inherited an ample fortune. In 
the earlier years of marriage, she had to endure the re- 

20* 



234 THE innkeeper's wife: 

flection, not a little mortifying to her pride, of being 
thought wedded to a man rather beneath her station and 
pretensions. But, after the war broke out, and laudations 
were showered on her husband for his indomitable exer- 
tions, both by his neighbors and by officers of the army 
who had experienced the benefit of his aid, all pompous 
clamor was silenced, and his station was considered 
suited to any family. Pope's famous couplet was never 
more strikingly illustrated than by his history : — 

" Honor and worth from no condition rise : 
Act well your part; there all the honor lies." 

The year 1781 was prolific in important events for 
American Independence, and Virginia was all anxiety. 
On one side she was held in terror by the haughty and 
ruthless Hessians under Sir Henry Clinton, expecting 
hourly invasion and devastation ; whilst on the other, 
the fierce veterans of Cornwallis and the " invincible 
legion" of Tarleton threatened to crush all within their 
reach. Greene's army, that heroic column which had 
fought through all obstacles, and suffered and bled in 
utter despair of all relief; which had defied the disci- 
pline of British regulars, the pangs of famine, the fury 
of the elements, the pitiless severity of the seasons, naked 
and half armed, and had triumphed over all ; this army, 
hotly pursued by Cornwallis, was in the neighborhood. 
In the very sight, and under the guns of their incensed 
enemy, they had crossed the Dan, and the w^hole country 
rang with shouts of exultation at the brilliant feat. The 
sturdy Whig population of the surrounding counties 
poured out en masse, to relieve their wants in food, cloth- 
ing, and accoutrements. The expiring spark of patriot- 



A STORY OF THE REVOLUTIOX. 235 

ism was rekindled, and the torch of freedom and of the 
revolution burned with new vijror. 

As may be supposed, these circumstances and their 
results, so well calculated to countervail the recent de- 
pression, which was vainly thought the prelude to uni- 
versal dismay and submission, greatly exasperated the 
British leaders, and they wreaked vengeance in ways 
utterly repugnant to all rules of civilized warfare, and 
degrading to humanity. Houses were ransacked, beds 
ripped open, furniture spoiled, and provisions and pro- 
perty destroyed, without discrimination and without 
mercy. Parties were sent to scour the country, who 
scrupled not to murder or imprison the men, and to 
insult the women. It was a time for the daughters of 
America to summon all their fortitude ; for husbands, 
fathers, and brothers, unprepared to provide for or protect 
them under the rapid assaults and sudden onsets of the 
British cavalry, were forced, without choice or remedy, to 
leave them to what meagre courtesy and forbearance 
their sex or their situation could extract from their fierce 
invaders. Nor did woman's fortitude and courage fail 
or flinch in these appalling emergencies. 

Now it happened that, on a cold night in the year 
above named, whilst our family at the Ordinary were 
quietly seated around the cheerful fireside, engaged 
doubtless in recounting the stirring news developed at 
each day's close, a negro who had been on the lookout 
entered, breathless and trembling, with the unwelcome 
and ever-terrifying announcement that " the rod coats 
under Tarleton were in the neighborhood, and might 
ride up at any moment," All was instantly alarm and 
confusion. The wife refused to sleep in such suspense. 



236 THE innkeeper's wife: 

and bracing herself against the depressing effects of 
unnecessary fear, actively abetted her husband in his 
preparations for flight. In a short time, all was ready, 
and, filled with melancholy presages, the husband and 
wife bade a silent adieu, each resolved to encounter with 
firmness their respective duties and difficulties. Not a 
living thing which could lay claim to the name of pro- 
perty was left on the premises, if we except an old negro 
and his wife who volunteered to remain with their mis- 
tress. But the provisions which had been stored away 
for the American troops, and for the accommodation of 
such travelers as might venture abroad in these times 
of gloom and terror, were left exposed ; and the spacious 
cellar was filled with barrels of peach brandy, distilled 
at home, and carefully reserved for the same purposes. 
To save a portion of these was now the most anxious 
object with Mrs. Moore — to save all was entirely out of 
the question. In view of her slender resources, she 
instantly resolved to leave the cribs and orranaries to fare 
as they might, and directed her whole thoughts and 
means to the preservation of her stores in the cellar. She 
at once calculated that the whole troop would be break- 
fasted at her expense, and this she resolved to offer with 
cheerfulness. Unprovided with means of transportation, 
it could hardly be supposed that cavalry would or could 
carry away more than would answer temporarily, being 
so far too from the main body of the army. To prevent 
destruction of what was left was, therefore, the import- 
ant question. She was sure that the liquor could not 
escape, and in daily expectation that Colonel Washing- 
ton would be passing (who was attempting to check the 



A STORY OF THE REVOLUTION. 23T 

rapacity of the enemy), she was most anxious to preserve 
full rations for his weary and patriotic band. 

Leaving her children to the care of the faithful negress, 
she descended, candle in hand, accompanied by her 
servant, to the cellar beneath. Within this was an 
apartment back, divided by a thick wall, and to which 
no light was admitted. Here was always stored the 
brandy, which, thus secured, was left to mellow and 
to purify. Her excellent sense at once suggested that 
this secluded stronghold, together with the pleasant and 
captivating effluvia which exuded from its every crack 
or crevice, would be most sure to attract, and probably 
distract the attention of the robbers who were shortly 
expected. Applying the key to the iron-faced door, 
which looked as though it might resist the strongest 
efforts if stormed, she directed the astonished servant to 
roll out a number of the choice barrels. These she 
strewed in different parts of the open room, taking care 
to conceal them partially by carelessly throwing over 
them pieces of hoops and staves, or mildewed straw, in 
such manner as to create the impression that they were 
nothing more than heaps of useless rubbish. After the 
same fashion she also adroitly disguised several barrels 
of pork and flour, to guard against contingencies. This, 
though simple in every particular, w^as a remarkable 
instance of self-possession in a matron not much exceed- 
ing the age of twenty-five, and so perilously situated. 
Havinof done all she could do, and again lockina^ the 
door, she. put the key in her basket and re-entered her 
chamber. Her children were quietly sleeping on their 
pallet, and anxious, but resolved, she lay down undressed 
by their side, not to sleep, but to await the event as 
became a wife, a mother, and a woman of America. 



238 THE innkeeper's WIFE; 



CHAPTER 11. 

True to his accustomed activity, by early dawn on 
the day following, Tarleton had broken up his bivouac, 
and before the sun mounted over the surrounding hills, 
was on his march for the Ordinary. A dense fog covered 
the whole space around, and his approach was known 
only from the rumbling echo of hoofs as the squadron 
galloped over the frozen ground. Foremost came a cor- 
poral with his advanced guard, to make known the orders 
of his imperious and fierce commander. Early as was 
the hour, Mrs. Moore had prepared her plan of action, 
and, as the officer entered, unasked and unannounced, 
was silting before a huge log fire which blazed in the 
parlor corner, calmly engaged with her knitting, as though 
peril and insult were not near. On his entrance, she 
rose, but offered no salute or invitation, and the rough 
soldier swaggered to the fire, where, standing with his 
back to its cheerful blaze, a skirt of his coat hanging 
from each arm, he thus accosted the matron in the rude 
and discourteous style so common at that time with the 
British troops"". 

" Well, madam, where is the infernal old rebel who 

keeps this house ? Answ^er me quick, for by , I'm 

in no humor for dainty mouthing and silly scenes." 

"What mean you, sir?" answered Mrs. Moore, who 
by the by was blessed with a full share of temper when 



A STORY OF THE REVOLUTION. 239 

excited, as well as spirit to maintain it. " I am not in 
the habit of hearing or replying to such beastly lan- 
guafje." 

"You ask what I mean," said the corporal. " I will 
tell you that I mean your husband, or whatever you are 
to the rebellious traitor whose name hangs on yonder 
sign. If we can lay hands on him, I'll try and raise his 
head by the side of his name, and ask of you no further 
aid than the loan of a strong bed-cord." And, pointing 
to the beam on the sign-post, he made a significant 
motion with his hand about his neck, which left no doubt 
as to the allusion. 

This insult, so stinging and so unprovoked, drew an 
involuntary tear to the eye of the helpless woman, but, 
wisely subduing any appearance of the kind in such 
company, she turned her back on the ruffian, and walked 
into her chamber. 

At this moment, the full, mellow sound of a bugle 
awaked the echoes of hill and dale, and the whole 
troop appeared in sight at the head of the lane. The 
rising sun had dispelled in part the thick mist of the 
morning, and from a window of her room the lady could 
catch glimpses of their shining armor as they rapidly 
advanced. Presently they galloped full into the yard, 
and the corporal walked out to meet them. 

A towering, stalwart officer, clad in the splendid uni- 
form of a British dragoon, dismountetl from his charger, 
and, after exchanging a word with the corporal, advanced 
towards the doorway, making the oaken floor of the 
long gallery in front ring with the clang of his iron- 
heeled cavalry boots. The huge roan steed, the long- 
brown hair, and the frightful marks of small-pox whigh 



240 THE innkeeper's wife: 

disfigured his otherwise comely face, told at once who 
this officer was, and, agreeably to the plan she had 
formed, Mrs. Moore, having a little girl by the hand, 
and an infant boy in her arms, met him promptly at the 
hall door. 

" Colonel Tarleton, I presume," she said, with a grace- 
ful curtsey. 

" At your service, madam," was the prompt reply of 
that celebrated officer. And, as he touched the rim of 
his dragoon cap, he responded to the offi^r of the lady 
by seating himself with somewhat of the same familiarity 
which had distinguished his sub-officer before the parlor 
fire. 

Fierce and unrelenting, thoiigh always roughly cour- 
teous, the British commander was nevertheless struck 
with the calm dignity, the stately manner, and somewhat 
aristocratic demeanor of his landlady, and could not re- 
concile her appearance with the generally received no- 
tions of an innkeeper's wife. 

" 'Pon honor, madam," said he, " I must say you 
have there two likely, nice little folks," and, offi^ring his 
hand to the little girl, who readily took it, he at the same 
time slightly caressed the boy in the mother's arms. 
With staring eye and trembling lip, the infant pertly 
struck the hand which he extended, and hid its head in 
the folds of the mother's shawl. 

" Oh, ho," laughed Tarleton, " some of the old leaven, 
I see. The red is too strong for his little blue eyes, I 
suppose; hey, madam?" winking knowingly at the 
mother. " By the way, madam, does the father of this 
fiery little rebel always leave you to do the honors of his 
tavern ? His faith is tolerably strong, considering your 



A STORY OF THE REVOLUTION. 241 

nge and comeliness. Come, my good madam, tell me, 
have you locked him in the closet, hid him in the cuddy, 
or stuffed him under the bed ? He has served his mob 
Congress and his rebel leaders well enough to receive 
some attention at my hands." 

"I am happy to say, sir," returned the lady, ''that 
my husband is beyond your reach, and I decline "for him 
the attentions you speak of. As to whether I have placed 
him where you suggest, I presume you W'ill soon find 
when you commence your usual round of forcing locks, 
tearing open beds, and burning houses." 

" For George, madam, a proper answer from a rebel's 
wife to an officer in his majesty's service!" said Tarleton, 
with a mixture of humor and mock severity of tone. 
" And what if I should do all you have said, how can 
these daring and obstinate rebels complain w'ho put his 
majesty to such trouble ? Make yourself easy, my good 
hostess, but I have now no time to parley or play at cross 
questions with a spirited dame. Work is before me, 
and work is always first with those under my orders." 

At this instant the corporal again entered, and, lifting 
his cap, approached to w'here his officer and the lady 
were sitting. At the sight of her insulter, Mrs. Moore 
coidd not repress a slight exclamation. She started 
back, whilst the fire of injured feeling and outraged de- 
licacy burned in her lustrous eyes, and suffused with a 
deep crimson hue the cheeks just now pallid almost from 
the reflection in whose dread presence she stood. All 
these were not unobserved by the quick glance of Tarle- 
ton, who, beyond doubt, had felt his chivalry awakened 
by the manner and spirit of the woman before him. 

" Pray, what is the matter, madam ?" he asked. 
21 



242 THE innkeeper's wife: 

" And what causes you such feeling at the sight of my 
officer?" 

Unabashed and nerved by the full flow of resentment 
which lurks in woman's bosom when smarting beneath 
the rankling of insult and outrage, Mrs. Moore recounted 
with feeling emphasis the gross language and the of- 
fensive allusion which had aroused and embittered her 
feelings as a wife and a mother. As she proceeded, the 
rigid frown which contracted the brow of Tarleton, and 
the fury which sparkled from his fierce glance, told that 
woman had found a protector, and sent a cold shudder 
to the heart of the brutal offender. 

When asked if he admitted the fact, the trooper could 
not articulate, so firmly had fear and conscious guilt 
clenched his teeth ; and when, in the rage of passion, 
and with the full sway of a British commanding officer, 
Tarleton strode forward and struck him, the soldier cow- 
ered and shrank beneath the blow like a slave. This 
was not all. Tarleton caused him to unclasp his sword- 
belt, and then, breaking the weapon before his face, 
ordered him to the rear under arrest. 

These facts, being substantially true, serve to relieve 
in some measure the odium which is generally heaped 
on the name and memory of this distinguished, though 
cruel Briton. On this occasion he certainly behaved as 
a gallant and high-souled officer, jealous of the reputation 
of his service, though his harsh and summary chastise- 
ment of the offender in the presence of a lady, a scene 
so unsuited to female softness and delicacy, showed in 
a strong view that impulsive and fierce dit-position so 
characteristic of the man. 

This being done, Tarleton resumed his natural humor. 



A STORY OF THE REVOLUTION. 243 

and proceeded with his inquiries, as though nothing of 
an unusual character had happened. And indeed such 
scenes in the British army, which in the French or 
American service would have aroused a hurricane of 
resentment among the junior officers and privates, were 
by no means uncommon, and account in part for the 
ruffian dispositions of the soldiery wdien unchecked by 
rigid discipline. 

"Now, madam," said Tarleton, " since it seems I 
shall not now have the pleasure of conducting your hus- 
band as a prisoner of war to my commanding officer, I 
must trouble you to breakfast my squad with a portion 
of those dainty supplies which doubtless your good man 
has left to be distributed to the rebel army, who know so 
much better how to run than how to fight." 

" Do they indeed ?" said the matron, emboldened to 
satire, perhaps, by the consciousness of being in a gen- 
tleman's power, and not in that of a ruffian, as he had been 
represented. " Doubtless we poor Americans have been 
duped by false rumors : but a few weeks since we had 
news that his majesty's troops fully equaled them in the 
first, whilst our poor soldiers proved their knowledge of 
the last quite to the satisfaction of Cornwallis and his 
officers." 

"Ah, you allude to that ridiculous, helter-skelter affair 
at your Cowpens," answered Tarleton, no way confused. 
" Well, madam, I did my part, as you doubtless heard, 
and his lordship hopes soon to get this mob enclosed in 
pens something more substantial than where we last had 
them." . 

" Report says," retorted the lady, now cruel in turn, 
" that we have an officer in the American ranks who does 



244 THE innkeeper's wife : 

not much dread close quarters in battle, even though he 
finds himself face to face with a very redoubted adver- 
sary." 

" Zounds, madam, you tempt me to anger by such a 
ridiculous tirade," answered he, somewhat moved, though 
not out of humor. " If ever I can get sight of this name- 
sake of your old rebel chief, I will leave on him a mark 
by which he can boast to some effect of an encounter." 

" In that case," again said the lady, archly smiling, 
" you and he, from what we hear, will be then fairly at 
quits, for it is said he has already balanced that score." 

The latter part of this conversation is given on testi- 
mony not considered altogether reliable in our courts of 
judicature, though if the report, which has since received 
the sanction of history, be true, that Tarleton had lost 
his fingers in a hand to hand fight with Colonel Wash- 
ington, it is fairly presumable that the rumor was then 
rife. On this occasion, he w'as gloved and booted, as 
already remarked, and the wound, if ever inflicted, was 
not of course visible* 



A STORY OF THE REVOLUTION, 245 



CHAPTER III. 

The troop dismounted and arrnnged to cook and eat 
their breakfast in the open yard, Tarleton and a few of 
his higher officers only partaking their meal in the hall 
under the invitation and superintendence of their inex- 
plicable hostess. Whilst engaged in discussing, with 
great apparent pleasure, the substantial repast spread 
out before them, it is said that Tarleton, with a species 
of blunt politeness peculiar to him, asked " if he could 
get a cup of tea." 

"A cup of tea!" answered Mrs. Moore. "Colonel 
Tarleton surely forgets that he is breakfasting with the 
wife of an American patriot. In these times, too, we 
have no means of transporting hither the waters in Bos- 
ton harbor, and they are the only specimen of the article 
you wish we have had in this country for many years 
past." 

At this tart but good-humored sally, the young officers 
at table laughed outright, despite the presence of their 
commander, whose crude and severe notions of loyalty 
and discipline were understood to be generally averse to 
the least levity as regarded the course of his superiors, 
or the action ©f his government. After gravely rebuking 
them on this occasion, he replied to the lady of the house 
in his usual tone, half earnest, half humorous. 

"Well, my dear madam," said he, "I only wish 
21* 



246 THE innkeeper's wife: 

those savages had maintained their disguise long enough 
to allow his majesty's troops an opportunity of tinging 
the tea of Boston harbor with the color so obnoxious to 
you Americans. Their blood would have answered the 
purpose admirably. The Ethiopian may not change 
his skin, but savages sometimes have been known to do 
the like, especially when their color was likely to cost 
them dear." 

Breakfast was finished, and the bugle sounded the 
assembly. The officers were at their respective posts, 
but Tarleton still remained by the fireside. The troop- 
ers were all paraded in line in front of the house, when, 
at an order from the sergeant, every tenth man dis- 
mounted, leaving his horse in charge of his right file. 
These formed the search corps, a system of domiciliary 
which was never neglected by Tarleton in these official 
military visits. 

Through the open door the lady of the house had seen 
this movement, and understood at once its object. Un- 
der the direction of the sergeant, this corps filed off 
toward the lots where the corn, fodder, and various pro- 
vender were collected and stored. On their return, they 
seized upon the old negro man, and ordered him to con- 
duct them to the store-room of the Ordinary and to the 
cellar. The first of these, like the various houses just 
left, were noted down in the sergeant's memorandum 
book. Arrived at the cellar, the sergeant himself led the 
way. He approached the apparent heaps of rubbish, 
and with his foot kicked off some of the top coverings ; 
but, as the old servant began to dread the failure of his 
mistress's plan, the keen eye of the soldier was attracted 
to the iron-faced door of the locked cellar, and, followed 



A STORY OF THE REVOLUTION. 247 

by his companions, he sprang forward with undisguised 
ecstasy. But to force it was no easy matter, and the 
keys were in possession of the landlady. The savory 
smell of the brandy excited the keenest appetite, and a 
most unconquerable thirst. They resolved on a report 
to the chief, whose influence, it was hoped, might obtain 
the keys, and thus prevent the delay, which none relished, 
and the necessity, which was, from appearances, by no 
means inviting, of resorting to force. The report was 
made, and Tarleton peremptorily demanded the keys. 
The lady replied that she would never surrender them 
willingly, and gave the chieftain to understand that, if 
he obtained the keys, which she displayed from her 
girdle, he must get them as he could. 

Tarleton disdained to use compulsory or ungallant 
means with a lady of such undoubted pretensions, and 
ordered the sergeant to take men and what materials he 
could gather, and break open the door which locked in 
the precious viands, most precious of all things to the 
soldier. 

He himself superintended the work, and from motives 
of seeking her safety in his presence, as well as a na- 
tural anxiety, Mrs. Moore, attended by her children, 
went along with him. This work consumed an hour or 
two, which rendered the British officer restive and impa- 
tient, especially when he reflected that the delay migiit 
be saved by a slight severity, which he had not often 
scrupled to practice. His men were astonished at this 
relaxation, and an officer was heard to swear " that he 
believed the colonel was smitten with the comely ap- 
pearance and lofty spirit of the rebel dame." 

At length, after vigorous efforts, the door gave way, 



248 THE innkeeper's wife: 

and the barrels lay before them. Tarleton gave orders 
to have his men served each with a heavy ration, and 
their canteens filled. This done, he unhesitatingly 
caused his men to break open the heads of such as re- 
mained over, and the floor of the cellar was flooded in 
an instant. Mrs. Moore looked on silently, but with ill- 
repressed indignation, which Tarleton failed not to no- 
tice. 

" The rules of war are severe, my good madam," said 
he, " but you rebels leave us no choice. This liquor 
has been saved with great labor, and doubtless for other 
purposes ; but my orders are to anticipate and provide 
against such purposes." 

" I expected no better," replied the lady, " and per- 
haps I had best prepare for worse," 

" That you will soon find out, madam," was the pithy 
reply, and the stern veteran bowed, and re-conducted his 
fair companion to the upper story. The sergeant now 
presented his memorandum, and after some conversation 
between the two, Tarleton, turning to the lady, observed, 
"My oflficer returns me herewith a schedule of your stock 
of provisions, which I am ordered either to seize or cut 
off" from the rebel army. I have levied enough already 
to answ^er present purposes, but you must give me your 
word of honor not to apply these to the wants of the 
Americans, else I shall proceed with my duty." 

" Then proceed," said the lady, firmly, " for I assure 
you that I shall make no such promise." 

"Madam, this promise can cost you nothing," said 
the officer, evidently reluctant to resort to severity. " If 
I destroy them, the rebels cannot get them, and they lose 
nothing." 



A STORY OF THE REVOLUTION. 249 

" I am not insensible to what you say," returned the 
lady, " and I acknowledge my obligation to you for one 
instance of courtesy. If you cannot spare us further 
losses and destruction, I regret it ; but I cannot purchase 
your forbearance by the sacrifice of my duty to my hus- 
band and countrymen." 

This heroic speech closed the parley, and threw, at 
once, all to the discretion and decision of the British chief- 
tain. He cast around his officers an inquiring and 
somewhat perplexed glance. Their expression could 
not be mistaken, and he resolved to err for once on the 
side of forbearance. 

" Sergeant, form the line, and prepare for marching," 
he sharply exclaimed. " And now hearken, madam ; I 
shall leave your property untouched, after having exact- 
ed our meal, and let loose the brandy barrels, and you 
may boast hereafter of having done what no man has 
succeeded in doing, and that is, having turned Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Tarleton, of his majesty's dragoons, from the 
proper course of his purpose." 

Having thus said, he strode forth from the room and 
called for his charger. Gratified at her success in pre- 
serving the brandy disguised in the front cellar, and 
touched with the unexpected courtesy from an officer so 
usually unrelenting, one other idea still occurred to the 
sagacious reflections of this calculating woman. This 
was that stragglers might return, and, in the absence of 
officers, destroy what was left, and subject her to re- 
newed outrage. She took her resolution in a moment, 
and just when Tarleton was in the act of stepping forth 
to mount his horse, she gently tapped his elbow, and 
requested that an officer might be permitted to remain 



250 THE innkeeper's wife. 

until the troop had gone far enough to prevent the oc- 
currence she apprehended. 

"Madam," said he, "I do not feel authorized to 
detail any officer on a duty which might prove one of 
great danger, and not known to the service. I shall take 
pains to guard against what you apprehend ; but if any 
one chooses to volunteer in your favor, I shall not pro- 
hibit him from so doing." A young lieutenant imme- 
diately rode out and tendered his services. 

" Very well," said Tarleton again. And gracefully 
waving his sword in adieu, he turned and galloped to 
his usual post at the head of the troop. The bugle 
sounded, the word " march" was passed along the line, 
and, wheeling into sections with most elegant precision, 
the imposing array moved off. In a very few moments 
more, the last of the " invincible legion" disappeared in 
the distance, and the solitary dragoon officer sat down in 
the parlor of the Ordinary to meditate on the probable 
dangers of his situation. 

But these dangers were only imaginary, for his grate- 
ful hostess heard, in a few weeks after he left her, that 
he had reached Tarleton in safety, and participated in 
the obstinate and bloody fight at Guilford Court House, 
w^hich resulted so gloriously to the American army, and 
so effectually broke up the boasted and w^ell-planned cam- 
paign of the British general. 



THE END, 



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